x-post: pre-existing condition insurance plan

I keep forgetting to post this!

I know that, in the past, at least a few people here have posted that they have had difficulty obtaining health insurance either due to obesity or due to having a history of weight loss surgery.

If this is the case for you, you might look into the newly available Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan. This option is part of the recent healthcare reform act and is available in each state, but a lot of states aren't really actively publicizing it.

The easiest way to find out about the PCIP in your state is to go to healthcare.gov and pick your state in the drop-down on the left. You'll answer a few questions and it will then give you links to some of your options. The premiums are generally based on age and geography (within each state) and both the premiums and deductibles can vary quite a bit by state.

To be eligible you have to have been uninsured for the last 6 months and you have to have difficulty obtaining health insurance on the private market. That difficulty is defined a little differently in each state; some states have lists of conditions that make you "presumtively" uninsurable, other states require that you get rejected by an insurer first or get offered a policy with a pre-ex or with a much higher than market-rate premium.

I don't know if any of these plans actually cover WLS, that is info you'll probably have to find out and it will probably vary from state to state.

Hope this helps someone!

If you have trouble navigating healthcare.gov and want help finding your state's PCIP, just send me a msg.

Also, if you are uninsured and pregnant, your pregnancy may be considered a pre-existing condition for these plans as most private market plans will not insure you when you are already pregnant or will impose a "rider" denying coverage for anything related to pregnancy.