Jul 11, 2011 03:02PM mrsnjband wrote:

You can only go 63 days without insurance before pre-exsisting conditions kicks in.  Depending on your income you might qualify for medicaid.

 I am in the same boat as Sherry, I will have to work until I qualify for medicare. I will be 57 soon, so I will have to work at least 8 more years. NJ

Google Hippa laws in you want more info on it.  

Jul 11, 2011 03:37PM msippiqueen wrote:

My husband is self employed and we pay boo coo dollars for catastrophic coverage with a $Ten Grand deductible. That was before breast an "offical" diagnosis of breast cancer having had LCIS.

I haven't had the stomach to ask my bill paying husband what the cost is now.

The sad state of affairs involving access to health care in part informed my decision to have a mastectomy.

But hey, maybe the insurance companies will recognize the value of PBLM's and will applaud those of us who make this conservative decision and not penalize us.

Jul 12, 2011 07:40AM Sherryc wrote:

Feerless One you probably would not qualify for the indiviual market at this time because of your cancer.  so if you were laid off I dobt very seriously that you would find a company that would cover you.  Once the Obama care goes into effect which I am not sure but I think it is 2014 then you would be able to get coverage in the individual market, but it will be very costly.  The individual market has different rules than the group insurance market.  That is why I know for now I will be working until I am 65. 

Jul 12, 2011 12:59PM reesie wrote:

Fearless, unfortunately, Sherry is correct - the 63 day rule is only for group insurance.  Individual policies can still deny coverage fully or exclude for the pre-existing condition until 2014 when the changes take effect under Obama care.

Jul 13, 2011 09:24AM peggy_j wrote:

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of good news, though it's possible that your state may help you. I believe MASS and VT have good health insurance options. Maybe it's worth moving? (I had a friend who had a congential heart condition who joked about moving to Canada for health insurance)

When I applied for individual insurance years ago (when I had no serious pre-existing condition) they asked me to list every time I went to the doctor and had surgery in my life. (yes, I was 35 and listed my tonsillectomy when I was 5). They pulled medical records from places that surprised me, like my allergy doc (the insurance agent said that allergy meds can be expensive). If you omit something, they can rescind your policy at any time due to fraud. (they usually only check this if the bills are high. So just when you need the insurance the most you could lose it). As a bonus, the applications ask if you've ever been denied coverage, so if you apply "just to see" that can potentially work against you when you apply somewhere else. I wish I had better news but my sense (talking to the CA gov't consumer group on health insurance issues) is that once we get a cancer Dx we have a pre-existing condition for life. ;(