Insurance for those with Pre-existing conditions will cover only a fraction of those who need it and it could be costly
Multiple sclerosis patient Marc Fladell and millions like him hope they will benefit when the first major piece of national health reform begins this month.
Fladell, 47, needs lots of treatment in his 18-year battle with multiple sclerosis, but he lost his job and then his extended health insurance ran out two years ago. No insurer will touch him because of his illness, leaving him to pay his own medical bills of $300-plus per month.
The MS lets the Pompano Beach attorney work only part-time, so he often skimps on or skips medical care. He stopped going to the doctor for pain in his limbs or torso; he just ices down and takes the pain. If he gets the flu or other symptoms, he may see a nurse at a drugstore. His costly MS drug comes free from a manufacturer charity program, but when he needs other drugs, he often goes without them.
Now Fladell is warily hopeful because the government on June 23 will start to roll out "high-risk pools" in each state offering guaranteed coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
"I would love to have insurance. I would pay whatever I have to, although I can't afford too much," Fladell said. "I didn't ask for MS. MS chose me. I just want the same ability to get insurance as everyone else has."
Yet experts say the $5 billion program will cover only a fraction of those who need it, and the coverage will be expensive.
Moreover, if Florida's experience is any indicator, the cost could be prohibitive: The state's experiment with a high-risk pool in 1982 collapsed in less than a decade because of spiraling expenses.
Continue Reading
*
*
****************************************************************
"Providing You with 'MS Views and News', is what we do"
Keep Informed and up-to-date with information concerning
Multiple Sclerosis when registered at
the MS Views and News website.
(This will take 20-25 seconds and will empower you
with informaton and learning)
Thank you for allowing me to help to keep you informed
****************************************************************
3 comments:
Att: Readers,
Marc would appreciate your comments and if you do not want to leave a comment here, send to me via email and I will make sure he receives it.
Stuart
I was having the same problems trying to get insurance as most do with MS. If the high risk pool is not something that you qualify for or can afford, look into HIPAA Guaranteed Issue Plans from several carriers such as Humana, United Healthcare, and Aetna. They are not cheap but United Healthcare seems like it is lower. You have to meet certain requirements like using up COBRA and I am not sure what the rules are if you have not been insured for a while. Another option is Coverage For All 1-800-234-1317. They gave me the number for Coverage Florida Health Care which is provided by Blue Cross Blue Shield and you qualify for it if you have not been insured for more then 6 months. The coverage has low lifetime and yearly limits but it is still coverage. There number is 1-877-872-6580. I did a lot of research into this and I hope someone else can benefit from it as well.
Ive have never had ins and happen to get MS too. My work never offered it, and although I tried before MS to get it, it was still too expensive for me to afford. I was accepted in to the county healthcare system for a very low payment monthly if I have a balance with them. Although it's very good care, I asked for a nuero appt in Jan, and was told , i have to be on a waiting list. They finally called me last week and I now have an appt set up of Aug. Guess it's better than nothing though. I do get my Beta thru the patient asst program for 25 a month, and nuerentin through phizer for free. I'm hoping eventually with the health care reform, something will get better for me and everyone w/o ins.
Post a Comment