All You Need to Know About Health Insurance for Pre-Existing Conditions

Suffering from pre-existing health conditions can be frustrating, but fortunately, health cover for your pre-existing conditions can still be offered by numerous insurance providers. Alternatively, many other options may also offer a valuable solution for your healthcare needs, as is covered in more detail in today’s article.

What is a Pre-Existing Medical Condition?

What are pre-existing medical conditions? A pre-existing medical condition is any health condition that is experienced at the time of taking out an insurance policy or which have previously accurred; most often, these are long-term ailments, although some can be shorter-term and acute. Some common examples of pre-existing medical conditions include:

• Cancer
• Sleep apnea
• Diabetes
• COPD
• Congestive heart failure
• AIDS and HIV
• Obesity
• Mental health conditions
• Epilepsy
• Allergies

In some cases, in addition to the above, pregnancy may also be considered a pre-existing medical condition; however, this may have less impact on your chances of taking out a health insurance policy, especially during the final trimester if no other symptoms have been seen.

Why is Health Insurance Important for Pre-Existing Conditions?

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Before looking any further, it’s crucial to tackle the topic of why health insurance is important for those who have a pre-existing health condition. Indeed, while it can be harder to obtain than insurance for individuals who don’t have a pre-existing medical condition, taking out insurance may provide financial support and coverage in cases where the individual could otherwise be left struggling to pay medical bills.

Health Insurance: An Expensive Investment

There’s surely no doubt that healthcare bills can be incredibly expensive in many cases. Even relatively simple healthcare procedures may leave wallets thousands of pounds emptier, and this is only natural. After all, private surgeons have highly expensive equipment investments to offer their services, and there’s potentially a great deal of risk on the hospital’s part just in case something should go wrong.

Don’t Go Without Private Medical Insurance

With this in mind, having private medical insurance in place is something that can absolutely offer a myriad of benefits for health needs – but it’s always vital to carefully consider whether or not this is something that’s likely to be obtainable without a fight. After all, for those suffering from pre-existing conditions, the chance of needing to claim on private health insurance is much higher; as such, it’s no surprise that many insurers will be reluctant to offer health insurance for existing conditions.

Is it Possible to Take Out Health Insurance for Pre-Existing Conditions?

At this point, it’s been clarified that taking out private medical insurance for existing conditions can be difficult – but is it impossible?

Surprisingly, the answer is no: there are numerous insurance companies that, after reviewing medical history for the individual, may still be willing to offer valuable health insurance policies. As such, before assuming that there’s no chance of taking out a valuable private medical insurance policy, make sure to check around and compared different private medical insurance plans, as some may be willing to help.

Will the Policy Exclude Pre-Existing Conditions?

In some cases, care should be given when taking out an insurance policy if there are pre-existing medical health conditions, as the terms and conditions of the contract may not cover the condition and its treatment.

Therefore, before signing any contracts, always read all of the fine print carefully to check whether this might be the case for the health insurance plan on offer. Indeed, while reading all of the terms and conditions associated with a healthcare insurance policy can seem like a nightmare, this remains a legal requirement to take out healthcare insurance.

What’s more, it may help with avoiding any nasty surprises when attempting to claim on healthcare insurance down the line.

Which Insurance Companies Provide Private Health Insurance for Pre-Existing Medical Conditions?

There are numerous insurance providers who are willing to provide health insurance support for those suffering from pre-existing medical health conditions. However, you may need to shop around to find an insurance policy that offers effective support.

Some insurance companies in the UK which may offer support for those with pre-existing medical conditions include:

• Healthplan
• General and Medical
• Freedom Health Insurance
• Active Quote
• Benenden Health
• Axa PPP
• Bupa
• Vitality

The above are all health insurance providers who have previously offered healthcare for pre-existing medical conditions; however, there is no guarantee that they’ll offer support. Unfortunately, this will often come down to a case-by-case basis. Indeed, in most instances, the insurer may need to consider aspects such as medical history, family healthcare history, and the severity of pre-existing medical conditions to determine if they are able to help.

Will You Have to Pay More for Private Health Insurance with a Pre-Existing Medical Condition?

Unfortunately, most people suffering from pre-existing conditions will need to pay more for their insurance policies, and this is often unavoidable. Indeed, in many cases, insurance policies for those individuals suffering health conditions will be higher.

This is largely since the insurance company can only offer private health insurance in cases where it is likely to bring in more income than it pays out; after all, it’s a business model. As such, those with chronic conditions will often have to pay more for their insurance cover than those with milder long-term health conditions.

Once again, though, this will all depend on factors such as how generous the chosen company might be and the like. As such, when looking for someone to help with private healthcare insurance with pre-existing medical conditions, you should approach several different teams to compare health insurance policies. This may help with choosing a valuable solution overall.

Will You Need to Fill Out a Health Questionnaire Before Getting Private Health Insurance?

Regardless of whether there is a pre-existing health condition, insurers usually require you to fill out a health questionnaire before obtaining private medical insurance.

Health Questionnaires Consider Family and Personal Medical History

This health questionnaire will look at the medical history declaration to provide a suitable assessment of health conditions and the level of coverage that’s potentially available to be applied for (as well as the price for this coverage to treat pre-existing conditions).

Alternatives to Taking Out Health Insurance

There are numerous critical things to know about taking out health insurance for pre-existing medical conditions – but there are actually alternatives that are well worth considering, in addition.

Indeed, while health insurance is the obvious solution, you could also consider other potential solutions if it’s proven difficult to find a valuable insurance policy. Common alternatives to taking out health insurance include the following.

Make the Most of Sponsored Healthcare Schemes

For residents of the United Kingdom, depending on the medical conditions in question and whether or not they’re covered, the most obvious solution is to seek medical treatment through the NHS. Indeed, the NHS can offer a wide range of different health services, many of which are fully paid for or otherwise subsidised. However, some treatments may not be possible through the NHS, which is definitely worth considering.

Check Whether the Contract Offers a Health Insurance Scheme

In some cases, individuals may be eligible for insurance through the employer or place of work. As such, in cases where getting private healthcare insurance has proven challenging it could be worth checking whether there are any plans and support options available through contracts.

Alternatively, if it’s expected to potentially develop a health condition in the future (for example, a genetic link to conditions such as arthritis), it may be worth considering a job role that offers insurance as an employee benefit – not all businesses are legally required to provide this, after all.

Crowdfunding or Community Support for Medical Bills

Reaching out to the local community for support can potentially be an excellent way to get help with medical bills in cases where you’ve been unable to get insurance. Indeed, a growing number of people are turning to crowdfunding platforms to help raise enough money for their private medical bills.

As such, this could be an option to consider if you’re comfortable with medical history being shared (potentially with unknown people from across the country or around the world). However, it’s not uncommon for people to feel a little uncomfortable at the thought of sharing their medical history or asking for help with medical bills; therefore, if this is the case in the circumstances, crowdfunding may not be the ideal option.

Reach Into Personal Savings

Savings are there as a rainy day fund – and, as such, as a final option, paying out of one’s own pocket may be a good option to consider in cases where support for pre-existing medical conditions through the alternate routes above is unavailable.

How Much Will It Cost to Pay for Medical Treatment Outright?

Of course, getting professional medical support for a pre-existing medical condition will likely cost a lot; this may vary depending on the type of condition that’s been causing issues, the severity, the availability and complexity of treatments, and the like. As such, this may only be an option for those individuals who already have savings in their bank and who can dip into these comfortably to afford the cost of medical care privately.

Final Thoughts

For those suffering from a pre-existing condition, it’s still worth considering health insurance to cover this or other conditions. However, there may be additional challenges and struggles in place to obtain a policy. Indeed, many insurers will be reluctant, if not completely unwilling, to provide medical insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions. Alternatively, premiums for other conditions can also increase as a result of pre-existing conditions. Nevertheless, it’s not impossible to take out insurance for a pre-existing condition; with this in mind, it’s worth considering the potential to invest in health insurance for your own healthcare needs.