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  • mtn

    April 29, 2009 4:05 p.m. mtn Dork

    I figured I'd ask this here; there are some pretty smart people here.

    It appears to me that for the first time in my life, I do not have health insurance. I had it until earlier this semester when I had to drop a class that took me down to a part time student, and I will have it again starting in August.

    Is it possible to get health insurance for only 3 months, or will they hit me with a huge fine for that? I looked up quotes, they don't look too bad for me.

    Normally I wouldn't even think about this, but I think that I will have to have my wisdom teeth removed soon, so I should at least look into getting Dental.

  • April 29, 2009 4:21 p.m. spitfirebill HalfDork

    I have in the past bought temporary health insurance and it wasn't bad (at that time). One problem you may incur in the near future with a lapse of coverage is that you may now be subject to the nefarous "pre-existing condition" exclusion once you get a policy.

    Dental is usually separate from health insurance and isn't too expensive. But it doesn't cover a lot of the expense for wisdom tooth extraction (at least ours doesn't).

  • mtn

    April 29, 2009 4:23 p.m. mtn Dork

    spitfirebill wrote: One problem you may incur in the near future with a lapse of coverage is that you may now be subject to the nefarous "pre-existing condition" exclusion once you get a policy.

    What would qualify as a pre-existing condition? I don't have anything--don't smoke, don't drink, don't have any asthma/diabetes/back problems, etc... Anything I'd need to be wary of?

  • April 29, 2009 6:15 p.m. z31maniac Dork

    For instance, when I had to get coverage when I was contract labor, they specifically excluded any headache/head pain type problems from being covered.

    I wrecked my R6 at Hallett and ended up with a Grade 3 concussion and post-concussion syndrome, which is why they denied.

  • April 29, 2009 6:19 p.m. spitfirebill HalfDork

    mtn wrote:

    spitfirebill wrote: One problem you may incur in the near future with a lapse of coverage is that you may now be subject to the nefarous "pre-existing condition" exclusion once you get a policy.

    What would qualify as a pre-existing condition? I don't have anything--don't smoke, don't drink, don't have any asthma/diabetes/back problems, etc... Anything I'd need to be wary of?

    Sounds like you may be good to go. If you had been seeing a Dr for asthma, diabetes etc within the past year, it could throw you into the pre-existing conditions category.

    But, I had a co-worker years ago whose wife went to a specialist in Tx, because she was having bad headaches. She was from Tx and knew the Dr, but she was living in SC at the time. The insurance co asked her if she had had headaches before (duh) and she said yes. Bam, pre-existing condition. But, this was one of the worst insurance companies I have ever seen and may not be typical of all.

    The rules on this change from time to time. And I believe this is one of the things our new president is trying to improve. Its better now than it was when my friend got screwed.

    BTW, I am no expert in insurance.

  • CrackMonkey

    April 30, 2009 8:32 a.m. CrackMonkey HalfDork

    mtn wrote:

    Normally I wouldn't even think about this, but I think that I will have to have my wisdom teeth removed soon, so I should at least look into getting Dental.

    You can get really inexpensive "major medical" policies. But, they only cover major medical events and usually have high co-pays or dedictibles.

    You can also get normal policies. They cost a bit more. And typically, they have small-print regarding coverage in the first month or two. They might also require a 6-month or 12-month commitment (I don't know, haven't shopped for one).

    Also, I'm pretty sure that wisdom teeth are seldom covered by medical policies (or dental, for that matter). They might cover fully impacted teeth that need surgical removal, but be sure read the fine print.

 
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