Can I Get Health Insurance if I am Uninsurable From AARP?

Every insurance company evaluates risk, or underwrites, differently. What may get you declined with one insurer may be acceptable with a different one. If you're declined for insurance, it doesn't make you uninsurable, though it may make finding insurance a little more difficult or expensive. If you applied for insurance with one of the companies AARP works with, and are declined, you may still be able to qualify for health insurance elsewhere.

Group Health Insurance

• If you're looking for health insurance and are too young for Medicare, there are options you can choose from, even if you were declined for insurance due to a health condition. Group insurance through an employer is generally the least expensive option and the easiest to qualify for, as everyone in the group is guaranteed acceptance. If you're not working, or your employer doesn't offer health insurance, you may be able to be added to a spouse or domestic partner's policy. Most groups only allow you to be enrolled during a few set times each year: when you're first hired, during open enrollment and in the event of a life change, like losing coverage elsewhere.

Individual Health Insurance

• If you don't have access to group health insurance, your next option is individual health insurance. If you're not on Medicare, you'll be applying for individual health insurance policies. These may be difficult to qualify for, depending on why you were declined for insurance. You may be accepted with a higher premium or with a pre-existing condition clause, which means you won't be covered for your existing condition for a set period of time. If you continue to be declined, you may qualify for a high-risk insurance pool, offered by many states, which guarantees health insurance coverage if you've been declined or have specific health conditions.

Medigap Policies

• If you're on Medicare, you may qualify for a Medigap policy. If you're just starting Medicare, you have an open enrollment period that starts the first day of the month that you're both 65 or older and enrolled in Part B of Medicare. Your open enrollment period lasts for six months, and during this time you can't be declined for a Medigap policy for health reasons. After your open enrollment, you can be declined for health reasons, but the exact reasons vary from company to company, so if you've been declined by one insurer for a Medigap, you may be approved by another.

Medicare Advantage Plans

• Another health insurance option, even if you've been declined elsewhere, is a Medicare Advantage, or MA, plan. These plans take over for Medicare, though you retain all your rights as a Medicare-covered person. MA plans have very little underwriting and will accept almost anyone. MA plans have set enrollment periods. You can enroll during your initial enrollment period, which is the six-month period that starts when you are 65 or older and begin Medicare Part B. You can also enroll during the open enrollment period, which is from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7 of each year.