How Pre-Existing Condition Can Affect your Health Insurance
Reader’s Question:
What is a pre-existing condition and how can that affect my application for a health insurance policy in Washington DC?
Sasha
Washington, DC
Hello there, Sasha.
By definition, it really means any health condition that you already have when you apply for a health insurance plan. Ore-existing condition applies even if you get your insurance coverage through your employer. The Washington DC insurance company to which you are applying for coverage is allowed to dig up your medical history, such as verifying from your records whether or not you received any medical treatment 6 months prior to your application. This will actually determine what medical conditions you already have upon enrollment for coverage by their health insurance plan.
What if your medical procedure or treatment was made more than 6 months prior to you application? Will that count as pre-existing condition too? My answer is NO. Under the Federal Law, any relative medical condition that was more than 6 months before your application does not count as a ‘pre existing condition’.
If your health card is an individual health insurance policy, then Federal law will not apply. This time, the health insurance company is allowed to dig up your claims history the past year, 18 months, or even longer to determine your pre-existing conditions before granting you coverage. Bear in mind though that rules on pre-existing conditions will vary from state to state.