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Preexisting Condition
(redirected from Preexisting Conditions)

   Also found in: Medical 0.01 sec.
Preexisting Condition
In insurance, a medical condition that existed before one applied for and/or received a health insurance policy. Most private health insurance companies refuse to cover preexisting conditions, at least for a certain period of time. Depending on the severity of the preexisting condition, a provider may refuse to provide health insurance at all. However, employer-provided health insurance must cover preexisting conditions if an employee switches insurance plans as the result of a job change.

Preexisting condition. A preexisting condition is a health problem that you already have when you apply for insurance.

If you have a preexisting condition, an insurer can refuse to cover treatment connected to that problem for a period of time. That period is often the first six months, but may be for the entire term of your policy.

Insurers can also deny you coverage entirely because of a preexisting condition. And they can end a policy if they discover a preexisting condition that you did not report, provided you knew it existed when you applied for your policy.

However, if you're insured through your employer's plan and switch to a job that also provides health insurance, the new plan must cover you regardless of a preexisting condition.



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The law also allows uninsured adults with preexisting conditions to buy into a high-risk pool with premiums subsidized by the federal government, an interim measure until new "exchanges" are ready.
Medical alert tags informing medical staff of the condition of their patients have long been worn to inform medical staff of preexisting conditions or allergies.
Prior to the HIPAA act, if ever anybody lost his job and consequently his insurance coverage, the next insurer may have described his health demands as " preexisting conditions.
 
 
 
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