Health Insurance After AN

[Sanddollar]

I have seen a lot of discussion about insurance coverage for AN, but have begun to wonder what the experience has been in getting health insurance coverage AFTER AN treatment.  Does anyone have any commentary about this?  I wonder if it will be difficult to get coverage since there are follow-up MRI's etc. 

[littlemissrory]

Hello...and Happy New Year!

I had my AN surgery May of 2004.  This past september my employer offered me full coverage through another insurance company.  I took it and have all the same doctors (I checked before switching) and I have had no problem in getting any treatment.  From what I was told, as long as you have had continual coverage they cannot deny you.  If you didn't have insurance there is usually a nine month exclusion period.  I had an MRI one month after getting the new insurance -due to some dizziness- and the new insurance covered exactly what they said they would.  So far so good...hopefully they keep it up.

Best of luck to you!  Rory

[wanderer]

the problem lies in non-employer sponsored health plans.       

It will be quite expensive but it is available.   


However life insurance is out of the question for most companies for at least 5 years.

[Sanddollar]

Happy New Year to you, too!  Thank you for the posts. 

Interesting to hear about both employer-sponsored and non-employer-sponsored situations.  Hopefully I can remain under an employer-sponsored plan, but one never knows what the future holds. 

The life insurance situation intrigues me.  It seems that few people actually die from AN and if you have had it treated, the mortality rates should be even less.  Maybe I underestimate the percentage of folks needing additional treatment/surgery or of regrowth, but this seems a little like locking the barn after the horse has escaped....  I guess that's why I'm not in the insurance biz!

[wanderer]

I think it has to do with delayed problems,   especially depression.

[Sanddollar]

Have you seen any statistics on depression and AN?  It is certainly understandable.  I hope to stay out of that camp, but all bets are off until after treatment.  How can one know how they will react the first time they flip on the stereo and don't hear in stereo or try to blink and can't?  This is a tough road, but I am glad that we have such a good community here to bolster one another.

[wanderer]

well I always ended up saying "hmmm that's interesting"