insurance on knee injury in July?

Question

I was hurt in a softball tourney in july. My insurance had not gone into affect at the time, but i had to have an mri. I had 3 torn ligments and a bilateral tear of meniscus. Because my ins. didn't take affect, i had to be referred to a goverment hospital so i wouldn't have to pay for the surgery up front. But my appt to even see the orthapedic is jan 18. My knee is really bothering me now. Is there any kind of insurance that i can take out considering this is a preexisting condition? is there anyway i could see another doctor now since my insurance has taken affect? Please help.. i need to have this fixed as soon as possible..

Answer 1

There are insurances that you can take out but like you said this would be a preexisting condition therefore, you would have to pay a higher deductible before the insurance would cover the rest of the expense. What you could do is contact the health care facility that your doctor works for and ask if they have any grants available to help low income individuals. Check with the hospital in your area. In Illinois, a lot of hospitals have grants to help people who can't afford health care and some even have funds set aside for emergency situations that will cover the entire bill if the patient has extenuating circumstances that prevent them from making payments.