Health Insurance for Pre-Existing Conditions: What You Need to Know
Tenzing Pacific Services
Full service insurance and financial services agency focusing on Southeast Asia. Offices in Vietnam and Thailand.
Health Insurance for Pre-Existing Conditions
Finding a?good health insurance policy?in Southeast Asia is actually relatively easy. However, finding coverage for a pre-existing medical condition is often just not possible. The general rule is that private insurance companies, which operate to make a profit, will not cover pre-existing conditions in new policies. This is because they are more likely to result in further medical costs, which the insurer wants to avoid.
So, in most cases, applying for a private insurance policy includes submitting your personal medical history. The insurer uses that information, along with your age and other factors, to determine how risky you are, a process called underwriting.
Each of your reported medical conditions can be:
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There are two potential and/or partial solutions to this challenge
?MHD?
Some employer group policies will ignore pre-existing conditions (“medical history disregarded” or MHD) because the group is large and profitable enough for the insurer to take on the additional risk. This only works for company policies, but the number of employees required might surprise you – as few as 5.
?MORI?
A moratorium policy can cover current or recent conditions that are acute or temporary. If you don’t have any symptoms or treatment, this policy will start covering existing conditions, but only after you’ve been on the policy for two years. It doesn’t apply to chronic conditions (generally those that last a long time), such as heart disease, cancer, stroke or arthritis.
The various insurance companies approach pre-existing conditions very differently. Some are quite nuanced and seem to consult with experienced medical staff, while others have a black-and-white policy with no room for variance. If you have one or more pre-existing conditions, you should work with an insurance agent who knows which insurer is most likely to offer you a suitable policy.?Tenzing?works with more than 30 insurance companies, so we have deep experience in this area