Health Insurance Chicago Illinois
Reader’s Question:
I am a diabetic and I recently acquired a job-based health insurance from my employer in Chicago, Illinois. I would like to ask what a pre-existing condition exclusion period is. Apparently, I am most concerned, which was emphasized by the company nurse to me because of my pre existing diabetes.
Bart
Chicago, IL
Most life insurance companies in Chicago IL have imposed a pre-existing condition exclusion period with the objective of trying to discourage people from waiting until they get sick in order to purchase health insurance. This means that if you have a medical problem which exists at the time you got your health insurance from your employer in Chicago, the insurance company will deny all claims pertaining to this medical problem for a certain period of time.
So since you have a job-based coverage, the pre-existing condition exclusion period is limited to 12 months-18 months (depending on your insurer’s policy) and only applies to conditions for which you sought treatment in the 6 months leading up to enrollment. You may be able to apply creditable coverage to you insurance in order to offset your pre-existing condition exclusion period. Just like if you were on an individual policy before enrolling in your job-based coverage in Chicago, you may be able to subtract the amount of time you were covered on your individual policy from the pre-existing condition exclusion period.
The rules governing pre-existing condition exclusion periods in individual policies vary widely from state to state, which means that governing rules in Illinois shall apply to Chicago. As a general rule, they are very different from the rules limiting pre-existing condition exclusion periods in job-based coverage in all states. Check out these consumer guides which contain Illinois-specific information about pre-existing condition exclusion periods in individual policies.
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