Is this legal? Do I have to keep my insurance??

Question

I live in the state of Oregon, and I recently signed up with health insurance through my work. The insurance is very expensive, and a burden finacially, but I felt it nessesary considering my health condition.
It turns out, they wont cover anything having to do with my 'pre-existing condition'. I have not used it once, and they wont cover me for what I really need it for.
Its basicly a waste of money for me, and very hard to make ends meet. I tried to cancel, but they are saying I cant until I have proof of insruance elsewhere or I have to wait another year until open enrollment? Can they do this? Is there anything I can do? Or do I have to loose $180 a month for nothing for the next year?

I have no children. Its me by myself. Other than my pre-existing condition, I am healthy across the board.

Answer 1

It is not "$180 a month for nothing." It will cover you in emergencies and future illness. If it is a family plan, then consider the odds that you child will break a bone, need stitches, or appendix
removed. It is worth it just for the peace of mind.

As for the "pre-existing condition" clause goes, most will have a time limit (1-5 years) until the insurance will cover the condition. Check you policy carefully.

As far as the not allowing you to drop the policy, that sounds a bit hokey. Again check your policy and start shopping for new coverage. Read any new policy all the way through before signing.

Answer 2

It's sad but most companies now have the open enrollment now (mine is October every year) and that is the only time you can make changes of any kind on insurance. Personally, I think it is wrong but when you signed up, that was probably in the small print somewhere that you would follow those rules.

I ran into a problem like you have many years ago but was able to cancel as soon as I discovered the pre-existing condition clause. I have post-polio problems and I also had to have a mastoid operation on my right ear and the reason I took the insurance was to cover any future problems with either of those areas. I long for the good old days sometimes when they didn't rip you off with those open enrollment things.

I worked for a city government in OH when Colonial Insurance in SC came in to sign up employees (not Colonial Penn) for their health plan to pay employees when they were off on an extended illness. First thing I asked was about pre-existing conditions but that didn't matter with them so I signed up.

Thankfully I did because I had to have several surgeries a few years later for the Post Polio and other problems and was off sick several times when I had Epstein Barr Virus ~ and I was off for extended periods of time but they always paid faithfully every month and I didn't have to claim it as income with IRS.

I had to retire on disability in 2000 and chose to keep the insurance so anytime I am in the hospital and am unable to do anything, I get paid for the time I am down (per the doctor's time limits on you). Haven't had to use it since 2002 when I had to have a knee replacement but I know it's there if I need it. I also took out their cancer insurance a couple of years before I retired since some of my family has had cancer. They have excellent coverage for that, too, but hopefully I won't ever have to use it for that.

Don't know if they have what you want or if you could afford it later but you can check the link below and get information now. When open enrollment comes around and you can cancel the other insurance, sign up for Colonial. Sure hope they can help you when the time comes.

Wishing you well and God bless

Answer 3

Yes, enrollment plans are only once a year.

That is why every November there is a rash of ads from health plans on the radio - it is when Federal workers get to pick.

Sure you can get Cobra - but you have to quit - and it will cost a lot more for possibly less coverage.

I am sure everything was explained to you "in the fine print" before you signed up.

You use insurance every day by merely having it - it is protecting you against unexpected or semi-planned out of pocket expenses, and that allows you to spend that money elsewhere with confidence you won't need it for medical care.

Basically, it reduced your risk and smooths out your finances. and you bought that for a year at $180/month.

Sorry, I know this is not what you want to hear.

Maybe you can take advantage of coverage you might not otherwise use such as nutritional guidance, mental health counseling, etc. so you feel you get your money's worth?

Answer 4

Many company-run health insurance plans will tell you that you cannot cancel until you can prove that you have another insurance policy for a very simple reason. They want to be sure that you will not cancel and then reinstate your policy on a whim when you think you may be getting sick. It doesn't make financial sense to them.

I believe that in most states you can legally cancel your policy anytime you want. The only thing is that if you cancel, the insurance company can choose whether or not to accept you back if you want to reinstate your policy.

Answer 5

You can cancel it! Look at it this way, if you quit your job, then your insurance would automatically be cancelled and you would have COBRA available to you. Call your state's Insurance and Banking Commission and find out what to do to effectively cancel the policy.