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How
To Get Health Insurance If You
Think Or Know That You Are
“Uninsurable”
If you have
been told that you do not qualify for health insurance due to pre-existing
health problems, do not think that means you can’t get
any health insurance. If you carry no health insurance
at all, you risk paying higher prices for your medical care, not
getting the quality of care that you need, and losing everything
you’ve got in order to pay medical bills. There are several
options you may have that are a better decision than going without
any health insurance at all.
- Cover
the conditions and family members that you can cover.
As crazy as it sounds, people will tell me that if an insurance
company won’t cover one member of the family, then the whole
family will just go without coverage. Or they won’t
accept a policy unless it will cover their pre-existing gastritis,
and after all that’s the only thing they ever go to the doctor
for. Don’t be foolish. Get the coverage now for
the things that you can cover, before something happens and you
can’t get that person or condition covered either.
- See if
you can qualify for group coverage from an employer or your spouse’s
employer. While individual plans consider the applicant's
health before accepting them, group plans in Colorado are “guaranteed
issue”. So if you have a job with a company that offers
group coverage, that will be your best option. You may also
be added to your spouse’s group plan, though the cost could
be anywhere from zero to quite a bit, depending on how the company
offering the coverage structures the plan.
- Set up
your own group plan. In Colorado, group coverage starts
with two employees. If you own your own business, this could
be you and your spouse as long as both of you are legitimate employees
of your business. There is also “group-of-one”
coverage available to self-employed individuals. To qualify
for group of one coverage you must be profitably self-employed
for at least one year, and you may only enroll during an open
enrollment period when your COBRA plan ends, or within 30 days
of your birthday. ColoHealth
does not currently offer group coverage.
- Sign up
for CoverColorado. This is a state-sponsored high-risk
pool offering coverage to people who can’t get coverage in
the private market. These plans are much more expensive
than private coverage for healthy individuals, but can be a bargain
for those with serious health problems. They are available
only to citizens of Colorado who have been denied coverage because
of a medical condition, and have lived in the state at least six
months. You can view rates and coverage, and apply online
at the CoverColorado
website.
- Apply
for a limited benefit plan. The best plan I’ve
found for people with difficult-to-insure pre-existing health
conditions is called the Value Plan, offered by American General.
Rates are very reasonable, ranging from $25 to $100 per month
for a 49 year-old. Though this plan will not cover everyone,
it only has 3 health questions and most people can obtain coverage
through them. Unfortunately, it will NOT cover anyone that
has in past 24 months had chest pains, disease or disorder
of the heart, liver, kidneys, or lungs, uncontrolled high blood
pressure, albumin or sugar in urine, uncontrolled diabetes, cancer,
tumors, or ulcers.
It is important
to understand that this plan is very limited in what it will
pay, and will fall short if you have a large medical bill.
However, having this plan can buffer your exposure quite a bit
compared to carrying no coverage at all. It will cover
up to $1,000 per day for hospitalization, and $4,000 per day
for intensive care. Surgical benefits go up to $20,000.
See our Value Plan
page for rates, coverage information, and an application.
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