Health Insurance for HIV Positive People
People infected with AIDS often face a critical issue of obtaining a health insurance. Chances are that due to intervening governing bodies, you may be granted the health coverage, but the stigma does not end there. Keeping and using that health insurance coverage can prove another major task facing many hindrances.
Insurance companies are frequently involved in activities that many deem inappropriate like discriminating against HIV infected people. Below are some points you should watch out for.
An important part of any insurance company is it's underwriting. The underwriting procedures allow insurance companies to evaluate the risk of a potential policy holder. This process determines if the applicant is either rejected or accepted. During the application process you'll be asked a series of health related questions. California residents are protected under law from an insurance company using a blood test report for detecting the presence of antibodies, known as the likely cause of AIDS.
It is also illegal for any company to assess risk on the basis of sexual orientation. Many a times, insurance companies violate this law by denying coverage to single males, implying on notions of them being gay or belonging to a certain area, actively known for gay community.
It is common for insurance companies to exclude what are deemed pre-existing conditions. These are conditions or illnesses that the applicant had before submitting the application to the insurance company. The insurance company has to right to issue the insurance policy with these conditions excluded from the policy coverage.
In case of HIV infected people, often the symptoms are noticeable to the insurer, as they deal with the medical aspects on daily basis, and are well aware of it. Most of the time, suspecting that a person may have HIV infection, the policy is designed in such a way to avoid claims in future.
Apart from this, companies also use the application form for limiting their liabilities in future. Cases where a current policyholder is found HIV infected, insurer often deny the claims on the ground of furnishing insufficient information in the application form. Court has directed rules, where by a claim in such case can only be denied, if this was done deliberately on the policy holders part. An insurance company can not refute a claim, if the policy holder has omitted certain information because he himself was not aware of it.
Insurance companies are frequently involved in activities that many deem inappropriate like discriminating against HIV infected people. Below are some points you should watch out for.
An important part of any insurance company is it's underwriting. The underwriting procedures allow insurance companies to evaluate the risk of a potential policy holder. This process determines if the applicant is either rejected or accepted. During the application process you'll be asked a series of health related questions. California residents are protected under law from an insurance company using a blood test report for detecting the presence of antibodies, known as the likely cause of AIDS.
It is also illegal for any company to assess risk on the basis of sexual orientation. Many a times, insurance companies violate this law by denying coverage to single males, implying on notions of them being gay or belonging to a certain area, actively known for gay community.
It is common for insurance companies to exclude what are deemed pre-existing conditions. These are conditions or illnesses that the applicant had before submitting the application to the insurance company. The insurance company has to right to issue the insurance policy with these conditions excluded from the policy coverage.
In case of HIV infected people, often the symptoms are noticeable to the insurer, as they deal with the medical aspects on daily basis, and are well aware of it. Most of the time, suspecting that a person may have HIV infection, the policy is designed in such a way to avoid claims in future.
Apart from this, companies also use the application form for limiting their liabilities in future. Cases where a current policyholder is found HIV infected, insurer often deny the claims on the ground of furnishing insufficient information in the application form. Court has directed rules, where by a claim in such case can only be denied, if this was done deliberately on the policy holders part. An insurance company can not refute a claim, if the policy holder has omitted certain information because he himself was not aware of it.
About the Author:
Hubert Miles is a blogger for many websites and the webmaster of Medical Articles and Quote For Health Insurance websites.