Has the no denial of health insurance for pre-existing actually gone into effect? I was confused and thought not until next month. I think they still have through August to dump people who have pre-existing. Hope I'm wrong.
No. And I don't think it's going into effect that soon, though I could be wrong; however, you can get health ins with a pre-existing condition if you can meet the 5 criteria which I wrote about here:
http://www.valvereplacement.org/for...481-Guaranteed-Issue-Medical-Plans&highlight=
You may also want to check this out:
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2010/07/01/111230.htm
I used to sell IFP (individual and family plans) medical insurance, but the last few years have mostly done Medicare, so I am a bit rusty with IFP, though I have been trying to follow some of what the new stuff entails. Most of it, from what I understand, does not go into effect until 2014. You can also find more info at:
http://www.healthcare.gov/
A friend told me that the insurance companies are being more lenient with some pre-exisiting conditions, but he's dealing with much smaller potatoes in his health history than most of us here. Supposedly there should be more accessibility to the high-risk pools, but, they really are fairly limited in what they pay.
I did look at healthcare.gov the other day, but I am better off staying on COBRA, and when that ends, because I meet the 5 criteria (post in first link above), I will be eligible for a guaranteed-issue plan, higher premiums, but covers more and does more than the high-risk pools and are not all that great; in California the high-risk plan is MR MIB, which is the Major Risk Medical Insurance Board, fairly pricey, and pays an annual maximum benefit total of $75,000, and a lifetime annual benefit of $750,000. For those of us who've been through surgery, you know that $75,000 doesn't come close to covering VR surgery and the stuff before and possibly after it.