I am still in the process of trying to find affordable health insurance. Today, I had the time to return the phone call that was left for me by an insurance representative. I ended up applying for the policy right through the phone call. Things did not go exactly as expected.
This all started with HealthCare.gov. I used the website to try and find an affordable health insurance policy that would cover only me. My husband has Medicare coverage. The information I was shown led me to an insurer called Celtic Insurance. I called them, but, since it was after 5:00 in the evening on a Friday, it was too late to speak with a representative. So, I left a message.
An insurance representative named Luz called me back on Monday. I wasn’t able to get to the phone at that time, so she left me a message to call her back. Between then and now, I got sick, and I also got busy with work. Today, I finally had a chance to call her back.
When Luz left me a message, she gave me her extension number. This made it extremely easy for me to call and talk to her directly. I was rather impressed with how efficiently Celtic Insurance was able to connect me not only with an actual person, but with the person I needed to talk to.
Celtic Insurance also does a nice job of giving their representatives the information that they need in order to answer the questions that callers ask them. Luz was extremely helpful, and she answered my questions clearly and directly.
After making sure that Luz knew which of their health insurance plans I was interested in, I asked her what the premium would be. She said that she would not know that until I made an application. Next, she started asking me the questions that were part of that application. Just like that, I was not only applying for health insurance, but I was also in the process of getting a direct answer to my question about the cost of the plan.
Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out as I hoped. One of the questions asked if I had any “medical conditions”. To make a long story short, my allergies are considered to be a pre-existing condition according to Celtic Insurance. Luz put me on hold for just a couple of minutes so she could speak with an underwriter, and make sure about that. So, since my allergies are a pre-existing condition, it means that I cannot qualify for their health insurance plans. I have been denied.
There is something called a pre-existing condition insurance plan that comes from the federal government. To qualify, you need to be able to prove that an insurer has turned you down because of a pre-existing condition.
Luz could not send me anything in writing that would officially state that I had been denied due to a pre-existing condition. To get that, she said I would need to go apply for the health insurance online, (which I have now done). At this time, I am waiting for an email from Celtic Insurance that officially tells me the same thing that Luz was able to tell me over the phone today.
Image by Greg Friese on Flickr