Community Forum

Hello....My son is 19 and will soon be off of my health insurance plan.  Does anybody know how he can get health insurance with Crohn's disease?  This is very scary and I need some help.  If anyone has any answers or can tell me who to contact please help.  Thank you. 

 Reply posted for Jennifer Jaff.

Hi-I was looking at all the posts with insurance questions and found your answer to this one. My position at work is being changed and I'm afraid with the recession my location my face closure. I know I could pay for cobra but I was wondering if I should go ahead and have my husband apply for his job's medical plan so we would have 2 coverages. If I had 2 at the same time would I still have to provide the evidence of prior coverage to my husband's company so my crohn's would be covered? Would this be a waste of money? Would I be better off paying for cobra, get the "letter" from them when open enrollment comes around for my husband and keep the cobra going just long enough to not go over the 63 days and switch then? Thanks for any info you can give me!

 Reply posted for 327 weaver.

Jennifer Jaff's post is correct. he could Cobra on your plan for 36 months or until he gets a job that offers him ins. They can't exclude him becasue he has Crohn's. You just need to make sure that he doesn't have a lapse from one policy to another for more than 63 days.

I'm a Insurance Supervisor at a doctors office and I have Crohn's. We offer an indegent program at our office when a pt has no coverage we give a dicount. We also put pt's on a payment plan when that have high deducts and coins, interest free. If a pt is in really bad shape the doctor can choose to treat the pt for free ( financial hardship has to be proven) doctors can't bill insurance and then write off the balance over & over (that is ins fraud). but they can no charge the visit if they choose.

Please do not worry. There are options. There are also wonderful doctors that are not in it for money they care. I work for 11 of them.

Best wishes to you & your son!

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 Reply posted for 327 weaver.

Hi.  I am a lawyer and Crohn's patient, and founder of Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness.

Your son can COBRA for up to 36 months.  You want to make sure to keep that coverage until your son gets covered by another employer-based group plan -- if he has a lapse in coverage of 63 days or more, he will face a pre-existing condition waiting period in any new group plan, or a pre-existing condition exclusion in any individual plan.  In terms of other insurance to be looking for, some states have high risk pools; some states have "guaranteed issue" policies -- it depends on the state.  If you'd like a fuller answer, you can email me at patient_advocate@sbcglobal.net and tell me what state you're in and I'll see what I can find for you.  J

 Reply posted for 327 weaver.

 Unfortunately, about all I can do is to tell you to search around, but I know that most companies do consider it a pre-existing condition, so they either won't cover him, or won't cover the cost of his Crohn's medications/treatments/tests. 

I know that there are no Life Insurance companies that will cover a Crohn's patient, unless you get the policy through your work.

 Reply posted for 327 weaver.

My advice is not to let his coverage lapse.   Since he has been covered on your health insurance policy for, I'm assuming, years, the pre-existing clause for new coverage should be null and void.  Check into COBRA on your plan.  You may be able to continue coverage, but it will be at 100% your expense on the premiums.

Good luck.

 Reply posted for 327 weaver.

 I am not sure about being approved with Crohn's but my mom set me up with a plan from Blue Cross. It is kind of exspencive but my plan wasnt made for sick people but in the long run it has saved me a bunch of money.

One place I did notice was through Costco.com click on services. Depending on your son's past history, I was quoted for a better plan then I have with blue cross for alot less. I believe you have to be a Costco member... but it might be worth looking in to.

I hope this helps.

 Reply posted for 327 weaver.

I know in NY there are programs such as Affinity & Hudson Health Source which are state run programs. I can tell you from experience that these programs are income based & 9x out of 10 they will tell you that you make too much. What a joke !! I can offer you this advice in the interim while you look for insurance options...OPEN YOUR MOUTH & ASK. By this I mean tell every dr.,lab ,even an anesthsiologist if you should need the service of one that you dont have insurance. I found myself sick & scared to go to the dr because I had no insurance back in 2004. I finally had no choice but to go & when the bills started rolling in I called & asked if they had any discounts in place for the uninsured. My dr & the anesthiologist reduced the bill & worked out a payment plan with me & the lab company cut my bill from $1,100 to $550. I started ordering my meds from Canada & they would come in the Proctor & Gamble bottle but had Canada on it as opposed to the US factory at 1/3 the cost...$167 instead of close to $500 a month. I did some resaerch & contacted  P&G directly & found out about their patient assistance program cause in 2004 Montel wasnt on the air yet...LOL. I had to fill out a short form & my dr did the rest & sent it from his office-a requirement- and a blessing in the form of a large envelope filled with bottles of  Asacol arrived at NO COST to me. I know this post is long winded but I hope it helps you or anyone reading it. I learned a lesson back then that it never hurts to ask. Good Luck