A word on health insurance types and features
Health insurance comes in “many shapes and sizes”. Basically it can either be fully guaranteed issue or it can be fully underwritten. . Guaranteed issue means that the insurer can not decline to issue the policy nor can they rider or exclude any specific health issues. Common riders, for example, may exclude the treatment for: allergies, asthma, skin conditions, fibrocystic breast condition, carpal tunnel syndrome, back or spine etc.
Fully underwritten means that the insurer has the option to decide whether they will assume the risk for specific individuals or medical conditions. In general insurance companies can: issue the policy standard or “rate up” (charge additional premium) and agree to cover all conditions from the policy effective date. They can also issue standard or rate up but may not cover pre-existing medical conditions till after a period certain (usually 12-24 months). They may also decide that they will rider (exclude) the treatment for a specific medical condition. Finally they may decline to issue the application altogether. Each Insurance company will have different underwriting practices and guidelines.
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