Blue Cross Blue Shield & Pre-Existing Conditions

Blue Cross Blue Shield is a health insurance providing association comprising about 39 independently working organizations, which have been fulfilling people’s needs by providing them with economical and quality-assured health insurance. Pre-existing conditions are covered by Blue Cross, provided that the previous insurance plan had been discontinued for no more than 63 days.

Features

• Pre-existing conditions are those medical illnesses that exist before you opt for medical insurance. Blue Cross makes sure that an individual is provided with medical assistance for three months immediately even before the effective date of insurance coverage. Both group and non-group plans cover pre-existing conditions. A counterpart of pre-existing conditions of Blue Cross is the exclusion; this signifies the exclusion from coverage of expenses related to any illness or condition for which Blue Cross recommended a “look back” period for treatment or medical assistance.

Limitations

• To qualify for pre-existing condition coverage, one must have had a diagnosis, medical advice and treatment within the past 12 months corresponding to the starting date of your insurance coverage at Blue Cross. Also, they should sign up the application within 63 days of termination of the previous insurance plan. Also, some of the pre-existing conditions are charged with a minimum premium of $20 a month. But the good news is, after you are associated with Blue Cross health insurance, your pre-existing conditions will be covered.

Advantages

• Blue to Blue transfer occurs when a member is already having a coverage plan with any of the Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliates for at least a month or so and then transfers to another affiliate without any break in the coverage plan. Each time a member qualifies for this transfer, there is a reduction in the pre-existing condition exclusion from Blue Cross. Gradually, the pre-existing condition exclusion is eliminated.

Blue Exclusion Advice

• There may be several of you who have not enrolled in any sort of health insurance plan from any organization for over 63 days and yet fall in the category of those with pre-existing conditions. In this scenario, you need to inform the Blue Cross representative about this. Laws vary by state but it is more likely that your expenses won’t be covered for at least unless a year. However, after a span of 12 months, this exclusion will be removed, leading you to eligibility for coverage without exclusions.

Precautions

• It is important to notify your Blue Cross health insurance company about any of the pre-existing conditions that you may have and have been getting treatment for from a doctor or medical consultant.