Individual Health Insurance for the Sick Becomes Available, But Not Free
June 2010
This week another mandate of the healthcare law will go into effect;
medical health insurance for those uninsured Americans with pre-existing conditions will become available through a special coverage program.
The plan is to allow coverage for those individuals who can't get coverage through their employer, but were denied coverage on the
individual health insurance market due to their conditions. About $5 billion dollars has been allocated to the program, which will be run in most cases by states themselves.
However, one catch that buyers must be aware of is this: while the costs will be partially subsidized by the Federal Government, this medical health insurance won't be free, and it likely won't be cheap either. Medical costs are so high for those with pre-existing conditions that even with the subsidies their
healthcare costs will lead to premiums that run from $400 per month to $575 per month.
And for many sick Americans, those prices won't be within their reach.
Those who can afford it are likely small business owners and workers who are forced onto the individual health insurance market because they can't get coverage through a large corporation. Factoring in their pre-existing condition means that they were denied coverage altogether in the past based on the cost of treating them vs. the costs of their premiums and deductibles.
They were deemed so sick that their payments could never compare to the necessary treatments.
Facts on:
Medical Health Insurance & the Healthcare Bill
Did you know...
Individual Health Insurance for those with pre-existing conditions will be more available, but not inexpensive to many.
|
To make things a bit more confusing, many states have their own special pools that provide medical health insurance to people with pre-existing conditions, though their coverage is usually more expensive and covers less. Consumers can try to switch to the Federal plan if they'd like, but it might mean going 6 months without any coverage.
Those who do want to sign up for this type of specialized individual health insurance for people with conditions should plan to begin the process right away. There is some concern that the $5 billion won't be enough to cover everyone.
You can check on your state's status by going to the website
healthcare.gov for more details.
Supporters of the pools argue that legislators won't want to cut funding to programs that protect and treat sick Americans, but it's still better to get the coverage as soon as possible, especially if you have a life-threatening condition that requires prompt care.
Recent Topics:
