UNDERSTANDING PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS

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WHAT'S A “PRE-EXISTING CONDITION”?

Technically, any medical condition that you have had prior to your application for health insurance with a given company can be considered a pre-existing condition. If you have been to a doctor about a sore elbow, even though it was four years ago and even though you received no treatment whatsoever, an insurance company could consider that a pre-existing condition.

Maybe you never went to a doctor, but had been aware for some time of a pain in your elbow. It didn't bother you continually, but every once in a while you took an aspirin to alleviate the pain. The pain in the elbow could also be considered a pre-existing condition.

Insurance companies vary on coverage for pre-existing conditions. Some will cover pre-existing conditions that were treated three years ago, others four years ago, still some even five years ago. You can generally find a statement about how an insurance company will handle a pre-existing condition by going to the “Exclusion” page in the insurance brochure.