Low cost medical insurance/preexisting condition

[Pooh2]

Thanks everyone for the responses. I guess every Mom wishes for a fairytale wedding for their daughters. Her older sister is having one in May. She was either going to have a small wedding in Sept 2013, or a larger one in 2014. They never really wanted a big wedding. Just a small one with close family and friends. Unless she has it next weekend, her sister won't even be at the wedding. Sis is coming in from Louisiana for her bridal shower.

I guess I'm now perplexed at how to plan a wedding on very short notice. I do want it somewhat special...after all, this is a commitment. I'm fine with a justice of the peace.

My daughter and son-in-law are Army soldiers and had a difficult time getting leave to plan a wedding. So they told us on a Saturday night that they had leave for the next weekend. So we had a crazy busy week and planned a beautiful wedding that my daughter loved.

We had the Mass at our church, followed by a luncheon at a local dance studio. We set up tables with trays of fruit, cold cuts, salads and pastries. Many family members wanted to help by contributing salads or desserts. We ordered meat trays, fruit and vegies platters at our local market. A talented friend did the wedding photos.

You have a month before Jan 1 to plan something really special. Sounds like after your son-in-law has been so ill, the family could probably use a celebration about now. If the family all gathers for Christmas or New Years eve, maybe that could be a time to celebrate with a wedding.

You can do this! If you need any tips on doing a quickie wedding, pm me!


Best of luck to you!

 

[disfan07]

If there isn't a gap in his insurance coverage then he is eligible. So if his insurance ends 12/31/12 and his new insurance picks him up 1/1/13 then he will be covered.

That was not the case for me. We thought we were going to need individual plans b/c my dad thought he might be losing his job and I was denied coverage by 4 different companies because I am uninsurable even though there would have been no gap in coverage. And we appealed each decision. Luckily, my dad didn't lose his job so it didn't matter in the end.

Even if he is accepted, most insurance companies have a waiting period of 6 months before they will cover Anything related to pre existing conditions.

My moms cousin who used to work for a major insurance company as a lawyer has flat out said that there is no way that her former company would ever have covered me.....even if there is no gap in the coverage. She dealt with denials everyday until she stopped being able to sleep because of the people they turned away.

In reality, it is a safer and cheaper option to go with a group plan. They can't drop anyone from a group plan (and the WiLL drop high risk individuals from individual plans) and it will just overall be cheaper.

 

[GusGus77]

I have a major medical condition and as long as there was no gap in coverage, then I was covered immediately.if there was a gap it was 6 mo until the pre-existing was covered. A non-employer plan would not cover pre existing and would have denied me. cOBRA was expensive for me (about $450 a month) but the state one for people with pre-existing was $900!!!!!!

I think moving the wedding up is your best bet.

 

[angwill]

If there isn't a gap in his insurance coverage then he is eligible. So if his insurance ends 12/31/12 and his new insurance picks him up 1/1/13 then he will be covered.

This is only true if he goes on his new wifes plan within that time period so he won't have to wait 6 months for it to be covered. If he tries for a private insurance plan they will deny him coverage due to pre exhisting even if he had insurance the day before he called them. Insurance companies do not want to cover someone who will cost them money they are in business to make money and pre exhisting conditions cost money.

 

[Leajess99]

There will be no insurance company that will touch him with his pre exhisting condition. There is usually a state health plan called CHIP he could try and qualify for but some states like mine have a waiting list years long and it is not cheap and typically run somewhere around 700-1000 per month so his COBRA might be more affordable. He and your daughter are lucky to have one another and a few month early getting married should not be a big deal for his health sake.

Ummm, my kids have pre existing conditions and have been on a couple of different insurance plans with no issue They are currently covered under BCBS. My oldest and youngest have both been asthmatics since they were a year old. They also have other medical issues and not one insurance company has denied them coverage or denied their pre existing conditions.

 

[GusGus77]

Ummm, my kids have pre existing conditions and have been on a couple of different insurance plans with no issue They are currently covered under BCBS. My oldest and youngest have both been asthmatics since they were a year old. They also have other medical issues and not one insurance company has denied them coverage or denied their pre existing conditions.

Is your insurance through an employer? If so that is different.

 

[crisi]

My brother in law managed to switch insurance three times with terminal bladder cancer. And his insurance at the end was $500 a month with a $6000 a year deductible and a $10k a year out of pocket max. He thought that was ridiculous - I couldn't believe a person getting $6000 of chemo every two weeks could get that deal. A lot of this right now depends on state law - Minnesota's is pretty good. He was unemployed and had enough assets to not qualify for Medicare.

But I think a quick wedding is easiest. Keep in simple and then if she wants the big wedding next Spring do that. They are already living together. The other option is that he moves out - he'd qualify for medicare if not in the household, and then moves back in with her after the wedding.

A quick wedding is charming. Have someone build some simple bouquets from Costco flowers. Get a cake. Do an old fashioned potluck.

 

[bedogged]

Ummm, my kids have pre existing conditions and have been on a couple of different insurance plans with no issue They are currently covered under BCBS. My oldest and youngest have both been asthmatics since they were a year old. They also have other medical issues and not one insurance company has denied them coverage or denied their pre existing conditions.

Fortunately, the President's health care reform act has already taken care of this issue. Insurance companies can no longer refuse to insure CHILDREN with preexisting conditions. In 2014 the act will apply to adults with preexisting conditions.

 

[Leajess99]

Is your insurance through an employer? If so that is different.

Mine isn't but their dad's is. My kids have gone from Tricare to Champva (Military and Veteran's health insurance) to their dad's work insurance.

 

[Leajess99]

Fortunately, the President's health care reform act has already taken care of this issue. Insurance companies can no longer refuse to insure CHILDREN with preexisting conditions. In 2014 the act will apply to adults with preexisting conditions.

They changed insurances well before last year. Least year was just the latest change.

 

[LadyBeBop]

OK...here is the latest.

First off, I deal with taxes at work. So I know, with their salaries, that their refund would be a lot smaller if they had to file as a married couple. With him filing as single, and her filing as head of household, she would have a larger standard deduction. Plus the Earned Income Credit would be larger. However, that would mean they would have to get married after midnight December 31. Which is when his coverage expires.

DD will talk to HR on Monday. (Unrelated question...how come, when you have a major question to be resolved, you always have it on Friday after work?) Since there may be a gap in coverage (probably between 12 hours to two days), would he have a waiting period for the preexisting condition? Could he even get on her insurance?

Another thought....have him go on COBRA for the month of January, and have them get married in January. I have not crunched the numbers yet, but I think the additional refund she would receive would offset one month of COBRA. (Unfortunately, since he has past student loans, his refund will be applied toward the back loans. I do know about the Injured Spouse form, and will have them file it when they do file together).

Is that feasible? As always, many thanks.

 

[KarenC]

My employer allows me to carry a domestic partner on our group plan. Did your daughter check to see if that's available? I have a son who can't get private insurance so I can empathize with your situation. Good luck to everyone.

 

[mrsklamc]

Losing the tax refund is worth not risking any lapse in coverage.

 

[sookie]

My future son-in-law just got out of the hospital about two weeks ago after a two months stay. Several times, we thought we were going to lose him; however he pulled through. Thank God for insurance.

However, since he won't be going back to work for a long time, and he has more than used up sick leave, he will lose his health insurance on January 1.

He can get COBRA, but with his health condition, it's way too expensive. He lives with my daughter and granddaughter, and I think their household income is too much for Medicaid. Right now, the plan is for them to get married before December 31, so he could get on DD's health insurance at work. They were originally going to get married next summer.

I want them to have a proper wedding, not a wedding at the Justice of the Peace. But they can't think of how they could afford insurance for him without them getting married.

Please help.

1) he needs access to group coverage
2) he needs continuous coverage with no lapse due to his condition. if he needs to buy cobra - so be it.

I do recommend that if they plan on being married - go to the judge and do it, and get on her insurance pronto. That will give him access to a group plan at a reasonable rate, and he will have continuous coverage. Most people will consider the religious ceremony the real ceremony for moral purposes.
I would not get hung up on this - do what is right for your future Son in Law. Congrats on the engagement of your son, and enjoy planning your daughters wedding.

 

[sookie]

Losing the tax refund is worth not risking any lapse in coverage.

This - if he goes into the hospital and is uninsured for even one day, he is really in trouble.

 

[sookie]

this is correct, as long as there is a change of life (marriage counts) he is not uninsurable.. add him the day they get married, and then have a wedding to celebrate in a few months!

I have never worked in a place where the new spouse or family member is added the day they are married or a domestic partnership is put into place.

Only a baby can be added on the day, back dated to the date of birth.

Usually, the spouse is added in either 30 to 60 days OR the first day of the following month when the change is reported (for awesome policies). DD needs to call HR and check her policies.

 

[sookie]

I'm by no means an expert, but I don't think that this is correct. My understanding is that if you have a preexisting condition and go directly from one insurance to another, then he will be covered. So in the situation of them getting married before the end of the year, he should be able to be covered under the spouses plan.

If he has a lapse in coverage, the wife's insurance or any new insurance can refuse to cover his condition. This is correct. He needs to maintain continuous coverage.

 

[dsneprincess]

Losing the tax refund is worth not risking any lapse in coverage.

I would totally agree with this!!!

 

[twinboysmom]

I have never worked in a place where the new spouse or family member is added the day they are married or a domestic partnership is put into place.

Only a baby can be added on the day, back dated to the date of birth.

Usually, the spouse is added in either 30 to 60 days OR the first day of the following month when the change is reported (for awesome policies). DD needs to call HR and check her policies.

She does need to check her own policy but I have never worked where a change of life (marriage, baby, adoption, divorce, etc) doesn't get added immediately. As I told the OP, We did the same thing for insurance for my DH. And honestly, I have never had what I would consider to be an awesome policy.

 

[robsmom]

How old is your future son-in-law? How long as he been working? If he had a job but is losing the job because he is too ill to work, might he be eligible for social security disability and with it medicaid? Will he get unemployment? If he is single and has no income, would he qualify for medicaid?