Finding cheap health insurance coverage these days can be difficult but finding low cost health insurance when you are suffering from cancer is thought by most people to be all but impossible. However, as long as you know where to look it is easier than you might think.

The key problem facing people with cancer when looking for health insurance is the fact that almost all health plans include exclusions for pre-existing conditions that will exclude coverage for a condition, cover a condition at an additional cost or provide coverage at normal rates but impose a ‘waiting period’ before cover for a condition comes into effect. A lot of people are simply fightened off by the words ‘pre-existing condition exclusions’ although it is usually not nearly as frightening as they think.

Most people can be divided into two categories when looking for medical insurance – those who are looking for an individual health insurance plan and those people who are looking for cover under a group health insurance scheme.

Those individuals looking for an individual policy have to start by deciding upon the type of policy that you need and then find one that provides you with the coverage you want at a cost which you are prepared to pay. Your choice is essentially between a traditional Fee-for-Service plan, a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plan, a Point-of-Service Plan (POS) or a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plan. Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages to each type of plan but, within each category, you will generally find a number of plans which will meet your requirements.

Should you be looking at a group scheme then you will probably either be looking at a plan provided by an employer or looking at one of the many plans available through such things as clubs, motoring organizations or senior citizen groups.

A group plan provided by an employer is frequently the best choice for somebody with cancer who needs to get around the issue of pre-existing exclusion clauses as these group plans are tightly controlled by both federal and state laws which restrict insurance companies when it comes to exclusions. For example, an insurer cannot deny you cover merely because of a pre-existing condition and, if you are transferring from one scheme to another and have a break in cover of fewer than 63 days, no exclusion period can be imposed providing a condition was covered and any waiting period was completed under your previous scheme. In addition, if you are required to wait until cover kicks in, an employer’s scheme cannot require you to wait more than 12 months.

Group schemes, other than those which are provided by an employer, will also normally treat pre-existing conditions more favorably than individual policies, but here you will have to look carefully at each plan.

If you are presently sitting back and doing nothing because you think that you cannot get health insurance as a consequence of suffering from cancer then think again. You could well be surprised to discover that you can not only get cover, but can get it at a price which you can afford. So, begin shopping around and then get yourself an online discount health insurance quote.

Tagged with: • • • • • •

Filed under: Health Insurance

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!