Well, what you say is true, IF, you're able to obtain health insurance in the first place. So if you take a job, and health insurance is offered, and you have a pre-existing condition, after one year, they have to cover the pre-existing condition.
However, if you're seeking private insurance, no one will sell you a policy in the first place if you have a pre-existing condition. I have MS and if we did not have group, there would be no way I would be able to purchase private insurance...I would be denied a policy for health insurance, if it were not for the fact that I get it through an employer. The same holds true for life insurance.
If there was a job change, as long as I kept continuous coverage through COBRA, when I or my husband change to the new job, the new policy would not list my MS as pre-existing...because of the continuous coverage.
But if there was a job loss, and COBRA limitations were exhausted, there is no way (except for the high risk pools, PCIP...Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan) that I could purchase a private policy.
And as to affording the disease without insurance...not possible. I don't take a disease modifying med at this point because of disease progression but I did for many years, and most MS patients do hoping to slow down exacerbations...and the cost, well anywhere from $3000 to $6000 per month. So the average Joe could not afford the meds that the doctors suggest.
You can go on SS disability, which after 2 years allows you to be on Medicare. I'm still able to work, albeit from home, so as long as I can work, I will.
It's a thorny issue and there are no easy answers.
I'm sorry you have personal problems. BUT, INSURANCE IS A BUSINESS. If you go to Vegas, they will not give you the money to lose.
Our social system is broken enough. BUT, there are ways to get the MEDICAL HELP without paying an insurance company.
Would you sell a car to someone knowing you had to buy him gas for the rest of his life? I doubt it, yet the insurance companies are told they must pay a million dollar claim when they only get $300 a month. That is not a good bizness policy, though it sounds good from a socialist point of view.
Why should I be forced to pay for what others use. Insurance is supposed to be based on actuarial tables. That means some get sick, and others don't. The insurance companies make charts and tables to show what the ANTICIPATED costs will be, THEN set prices accordingly.I'm neither, but I buy the drugs that are prescribed to keep me going.
Insurance is a profitable business. That is what bizness does, if done properly. The companies pay out a lot of money for things that should never be covered. AIDS is a classic example, since it is usually the result of homosexual sex. (Of course, they are a "protected class" that can freely move around the world spreading their "joy". Then, they expect to be provided with remediation in order to continue their perversion.
When my first child was born, I paid the doctor in cash. He delivered our son for $400, when insurance companies paid a lot more. He understood our situation.
I think all medical care would be cheaper if the insurance companies went away! It's one of those "personal responsibility" things. With insurance, everybody overuses the system for little things, and then wonder why their premiums continue to rise.
Very true. There are people, such as my brother who could not get coverage for over 4 years.
My husband lost his job right after he got cancer. We also have a daughter with a brain injury and another daughter with a movement disorder called dystonia.
My husband is working for a small start up that doesn’t have insurance.
I’m a stay at home mom, and I’m getting nervous about the whole insurance situation.