Insurance with Disability

Insurance Options for People with Disability

Starting next week, there will be a lot of positive changes that will take place to make health insurance plans become more comprehensive. Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies will be obliged to implement the following policies for new health plans, regardless of their previous policies, effective September 23, 2010.
1. allow young adults to stay on their parents’ health plan until they are 26 years old
2. cover all preventive services without charging any co-pay or coinsurance fees
3. banning insurance companies from rescinding coverage based on technicalities
4. eliminate lifetime dollar limits on essential insurance benefits
5. follow new regulations regarding annual dollar limits on insurance coverage
6. provide coverage to all children under the age of 19, despite pre-existing conditions
In addition to this, consumers now also have a way to appeal any insurance company’s decision through an external review process, which increases the chance of favorable decisions since the insurance company’s self-interest is taken out of the equation.

 

If you have a disability and currently do not have any insurance, the hard truth is that individual health insurance may really be hard to come by, even if you can afford to get one.

The good news is that it is easier to be eligible for Medicaid if you have a disability. In fact, any person with a disability is eligible for Medicaid in ALL states. What this means is that you cannot be denied coverage by Medicaid because you have a disability. However, other conditions such as income and assets still apply.

In some states, as long as a disabled person gets Supplemental Security Income (SSI), that person is automatically eligible for Medicaid. In other states, people with income brackets that exceed Medicaid limits can even be approved through their “buy in” programs.

Furthermore, Medicare also provides benefits to people with disabilities, even if they are under 65 as long as they get dsiability benefits from Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB).