Health Insurance with Diabetes

[John Q Public]

My wife and I are both pathological savers - we've made some pretty good progress towards putting together a base of assets to fund early retirement. We're hoping to have a couple of kids first - so we aren't really in a hurry - but the idea appeals to us.

Here's my biggest concern about doing this.

We both have a family history of diabetes - and were significantly overweight for most of our twenties. We have made some good progress in that department over the past year and a half - but there is a high risk that one of us will get type II diabetes prior to age 55.

We're working on the obvious solution to this - we've both lost a lot of weight since we met and are still on our diet. Exercise has become a regular part of our life. We've put together a pretty good preventative plan using some studies. That side is WELL under control.

However, I've heard that developing diabetes has the unfortunate effect of placing you in the "screw you" market segment for health insurance - where you're unlikely to get coverage and the company is likely to increase your insurance premiums to force you out. Obviously, this substantially screws up our budget.

I'm not looking for total coverage - just bankruptcy insurance. A high limit policy is just fine - seeing an annual out-of-pocket deductible of $5000 or $10000 doesn't both us that much. I just want protection from that $250,000 "unforseen problem" that cleans us out.

Any ideas? Anyone got any good suggestions on buying a major medical policy with diagnosed Type II diabetes?

Or is one of us (probably me) going to have to stay on a company plan until 65?

 

[sgeeeee]

John Q,

I just finished researching and choosing health insurance for my early retired wife and I a few months ago. One of the first thing I discovered is that you need to research the medical insurance laws for your state. State laws vary significantly and they will affect your strategy. Some states protect people with high risk situations much better than others. Some have high-risk pools that guarantee coverage. Some require insurance carriers to cover (at some cost) everyone.

Depending on the state, you might find it reasonable to take out some catastrophic policy today (even though you don't need it because of your employment). You are more likely to qualify for coverage today than sometime in the future after you have already been diagnosed with diabetes. In many states, an insurance company cannot stop coverage or increase your rates outside of the rates for your insurance age group once a policy has been issued. So if you qualify today and pay your premiums, you will continue to be covered in the future.

Good luck.

 

[Bob_Smith]

Hi John Q,

Here's a place to get information about your state. It is maintained by Georgetown University:

http://www.healthinsuranceinfo.net/

Good luck to you.

 

[John Galt]

Hello John Q. Health Insurance can be a major
headache for early retirees. It was my biggest
unanticipated problem, and unlike you I did not
think much about it until after I was already retired.
I figured I would just buy catastrophic coverage
(maybe $10,000 deductable) and take my chances.
What happened was that I switched carriers a few
times, went back to work for a while, then my wife had me covered through her employment, one of my insurance companies went belly up, and while this was going on I developed a few health problems. Before I knew it I was persona non grata all over the health insurance community. Even worse, I checked the cost of paying to be in several state "pools" and couldn't even afford that approach. Currently we buy our own
(portable from state to state) coverage. We love it so
far, but it has "caps" for various conditions. Thus if one
of us acquires some dread disease (unless it kills us
quickly), we could be in deep doo doo. Still, the
premiums are affordable and we plan to keep the
coverage even if my wife ends up working some place
where it is available. It was all the switching around
while my health was declining that got me in trouble.

Good luck!

John Galt

 

[Billy]

Hi guys,...
I am checking in from Thailand...regarding health care..i found this link that might interest many here...that is if your willing to relocate...
www.bupathailand.com

this is in no way a recomendation...just more information

take care,
Billy
web-site http://www.geocities.com/ba264