is it difficult to get insurance with lupus?

[amaris]

My sister was recently diagnosed with lupus and RA. She's currently insured by her work, but that only will last through the end of the summer. She's returning to seminary in the fall and is planning on using the insurance plan offered by the university (it's BCBS).

My mom's under the impression that no one will want to insure my sister or that it will be extremely expensive because of her lupus. Is this a legitimate concern?

I'd appreciate any advice on this matter. Thanks.

Amaris

[ICNDonna]

Yes, it is a concern. She has some pre-existing conditions that many insurance companies would be unwilling to cover. If she's leaving a job where she has insurance, she should be able to purchase a continuation policy --- she check with her potential carrier at the university before dropping what she currently has.

Group policies are usually the only way to get coverage if you already have something wrong.

Donna

[dyno]

Yes, it should be a concern, Donna is right. Insurance can be very tricky. I also know from dealing with my husband who has RA that the medications are very expensive sometimes without drug insurance. Some of the newer ones would be cost prohibative without insurance.

[amaris]

Thanks. I know that the university plan is a group plan so hopefully they can cover her. I'll be sure she finds out if she'll be covered though. I'll also let her know about getting a continuation policy.

[dyno]

She just has to check everything out before she does anything. I know that even some groups depending on the size of the company can have pre existing condition clauses. I know this from my daughter who a year ago worked for a major carrier with their health insurance in customer service.

[amaris]

I called the insurance broker for the university. Their only stipulation is that soemone with a pre-existing condition have been insured for 12 months prior to wanting to get the university group plan with no more than 63 days interruption of coverage. I believe that she meets this stipulation. I'll definitely make sure she checks everything out before making any changes. (She's currently overseas, so I thought I'd try to get her some info/advice on how to proceed with getting insurance for the following school year.)

Thanks again.