I don't post on the AML board, but I think that's a very good question, and that's why I'm joining in.  I think this question is relevant to many of the boards. 

My brother is 22 with relapsed ALL, going to do a transplant in a few months.  He is under my father's health insurance still, but I believe that is only until he is 24.  It's so worrying, as I have no idea how he's going to get insurance after he "ages out" of my parents' health insurance, as he will probably still be needing a lot of follow-up care at that point.  (Especially worrying when you look at the costs of transplants!)

Well, please remember my answers are based on experiences from nearly 30 years ago.  Do your due dilligence in examining whatever you might consider in the future.

Blessings

It is difficult with young adults.

My son was 18 when diagnosed, 20 when transplanted. One thing you have to watch for is lifetime maximum out of pocket per person. Our policy was 2 million and my son had used up 1 million 950 thousand, with aml, relapse, transplant and living in the hospital over a year. Fortunately, on yearly renemal,  our employer changed carriers, and with a new carrier my son  started the 2 million lifetime benefits all over.

Originally he was only supposed to be provided coverage to age 24 however the insurance laws have changed throughout the country, varying from state to state, and he will be covered to age 30 by cigna with stipulation. I understand military insurance is different.

My son actually chose a field that he can work for a larger company to get insurance benefits. He knows that probably no private insurance company would pick him up because of his history.

I do have concerns over the timeframe when he goes from our insurance to an employee based insurance and if they would cover the preexisting conditions or if he would have to wait a year, i am glad to hear of pams experience with that.

I found it extremely stressful worrying that my son was going to max out and be insurance untouchable, all in the midst of him fighting for his life. Ridiculous.

My son had relapsed one year into college also so he was in a very similar situation.

My oldest, his brother, had recieved a letter from the insurance company at age 24, entitled:

Florida's Non-Dependent "Adult Child" Eligibility Guidelines

It went on to state the florida 'mandate' that provides coverage for an adult child until the age of 30 under certain conditions including , unmarried, no dependents, resident of florida, or a full or part time student, and does not have coverage under any other health insurance policy or individual health benefits plan including medicare.

Needless to say, i called to verify this and my oldest who is 25 now is on our family insurance also. Apparently this law passed some time in 2008.

Each state is different so I would have your father check with the insurance provider and look into what the state law is for his state and the eligibility. And i believe that it does not apply to military.

I have been spending some time lately looking into insurance options in case I need to change companies for my coverage.  One thing I found helpful was to hit the state insurance commissioner's website, which had quite a bit of helpful information, including the relevant state laws, a list of insurance carriers in the state, broken down by counties, and also a list of the number of complaints received per each company and the companies' relative market share.  All useful information, for sure.

Another thing I did was talk to some insurance brokers/agents and discuss the particulars of my situation.  I found that as long as I did not allow my coverage to lapse for more than 63 days, and as long as I could be provided with a "certificate of credible coverage" from my current plan, I would be given credit towards any waiting period, either for a pre-existing condition, or for a transplant.  The waiting period for pre-existing conditions for most policies in my state is 9 months; the waiting period for a transplant is generally 12 months.  Therefore, as long as I had had continuous coverage for longer than the waiting period, and no lapse in coverage for longer than the 63 days, I would be able to obtain a private health insurance policy with no waiting periods.  At that point, the question becomes the type of coverage needed and how much I can afford for monthly premiums, but I sure found the news that I was still insurable a huge relief.  I, like a lot of people on this forum, assumed the insurance companies would hardly be falling all over themselves to insure me given my medical history, but what I found out is that I should be able to obtain suitable insurance as long as I can meet the above criteria.

Anyway, since each state is different, it's good to know there are resources out there to get one's questions answered, and a good broker or agent should either know the answers or be able to get them for you.

I do think MW brings up a valid point about the lifetime maximums, and transplant maximums also need to be considered if that might be in the cards.  It's amazing how quickly those maximums can be eaten up.

- WBF