Why does having health insurance before being diagnosed with a serious condition make a difference?

because then you arent the one paying thousands and thousands of $$$, its your insurance comapny. my dad always told me that if he didnt have healthcare when my mom was diagnosed with cancer, we would be in serious debt. thanks healthcare!

if you dont have insured and are diagnosed, you will be denied coverage most likely because youll become too much of an insurance liability. insurance companies dont want to pay money out for you, they want you to be perfectly healthy. so if you have a pre-existing condition, good luck getting health insurance. better off with minimal coverage. and yes, insurance companies do raise rates so youre no longer able pay, but thats after youve already gotten your medical treatment, so they rather deny you in the first place

Insurance companies can refuse to cover you or charge you higher premiums for pre-existing conditions. Diabetes is a pre-existing condition.

Its called preexisting condition. An insurance company is not required to cover a preexisting condition if the patient was not previously insured until certain conditions are met, normally being in the insurance plan for a set amount of time 3, 6, 12 months. Generally all insurance is a gamble. The company bets you will pay in more than you take out and you bet you will take more out than you put in. If people only paid for health insurance when they were sick the program would go broke immediately. The same with life insurance. You have to buy the plan before you are diagnosed with terminal cancer or plan suicide or you don't get paid. If you have insurance the law protects you from being dropped or having your rates adjusted if you are already insured and have paid your premiums. In addition, if you have insurance and change to a different insurance carrier, without a break in coverage, the new carrier cannot refuse to cover preexisting conditions. That is also the law.

To respond to a previous poster there is nothing sad about the way our health care system works just like there is nothing sad about the way our auto insurance system works. Think of it like this: just like you can't total your car and then after the accident call an insurance company to add collision coverage to cover all of the damages you also can't be irresponsible and not purchase health insurance until after something happens to you. If insurance companies were required to accept everyone that applied for the plan and cover everything right away even if they had big expensive health problems then of course no one in their right mind would purchase health insurance until they developed a major illness. Then of course the rates would be astronomical for everyone. So just like it is the responsible thing to do to buy auto insurance coverage before you potentially get in an accident it is also the responsible thing to do to buy health insurance coverage before you potentially get diagnosed with a serious medical condition. That being said, everyone makes mistakes and there are still ways to get coverage even when you have less than perfect health. Here is some more information on finding health insurance even with pre-existing medical conditions:

It's illegal to drop them or jack their rates up. That's why you need to get insurance before needing it. You can't call Allstate to insure your home when it's on fire AND they can't drop you AFTER they find out it burned down. Insurance is for UNEXPECTED illness or injury (or in the case of homes...peril). Your premium is a payment to the insurance company to 'take a chance' on you. That's why bad drivers, unhealthy people, etc.. pay more because the risk is greater. Good luck with your toddler. I hope you live in a good state that provides coverage at reasonable rates like my state does. http://www.InsurancePickle.com

Think about it like this... It keeps people who, for instance, find out they have a serious illness, & buy health insurance to cover them during the duration of the illness only. Say you were diagnosed with cancer on August 1st. & got health insurance August 2nd. Paid $600.00 per month until the cancer was in remission, & then canceled the insurance. People need to have health insurance. All the time. Not just when they think they're going to be sick... Having prior health coverage is kinda like a checks & balances system.

Well, it's a sad truth about our health care system. In a country that cares for it's people, you'd get health care regardless of whether it was before or after you were diagnosed. Unfortunately, the system is built to make money for the insurance company instead of looking out for the people.

It makes a huge difference! If you tried to get insurance after you found out it would be hard because insurance companies don't want to pay up anymore than they have to! If you need an alternative...I know of a great company, just let me know!