Health insurance provides financial stability, especially in times of crisis such as those experienced in recent months around the world. Therefore, it is an excellent time to think about acquiring one.
To do this, you must first inform yourself about it and as we want to help you in this process, we decided to bring you this article about the 10 common questions about health insurance.
Can I access all coverages from day one?
Generally, insurers usually establish a “grace period” for some services or studies of greater complexity such as surgeries, hospitalizations, and high diagnostic tests such as resonances.
These coverages are the minimum compared to those you do have access to from the moment you take out the health insurance policy, such as access to specialists, blood tests, and x-rays, among others.
The grace period refers to the time that must elapse from the date of contracting the policy and the day on which certain tests can already be accessed. This period will always depend on the insurer you choose.
The reason why the grace period exists is so that insurance companies have the certainty that you do not contract the policy only to attend to a pathology that you suffer at the time of contracting, but to cover what may happen in the future.
Do I need prior authorization for some medical tests?
Health insurance provides you with extensive coverage, depending on the type of policy contracted and the conditions included in the contract. You must know the processes that you must follow in each of the scenarios.
In most cases, prior authorization is needed for tests, such as diagnostic tests and some treatments and surgical interventions. Depending on the company, it can be an indispensable requirement for rehabilitation and physiotherapy, hospitalizations, cardiology, and oncology treatments, among many other tests.
Insurers have to explain to you what are all the tests for which you must ask for prior authorization and also inform you about the ways so that you can carry out the procedure in a more comfortable way in any place and time of day when it is required.
When the procedure has been completed, the insurer has to give you an authorization document, which you must present to the doctor responsible for the question test.
Not all tests require prior authorization, only those that are more specialized. In the case of consultations, basic clinical analysis, simple radiology, and ultrasound, generally, they are usually done without a major problem and without needing this procedure.
Prior authorizations have their raison d’être, as they allow to control that the guarantees to which the insured wants to access are included in his policy, if it is a test related to pre-existing disease if there are pending quotas if he has not exceeded the limits of his insurance, among other important issues.
If one company denies me health insurance, can I try another?
Yes, you can try it with another, because you are in your right. However, you will most likely receive the same negative response. Why? Because there are banks of shared health information that companies have access to.
Therefore, it is very likely that the new insurer will also reject your application. Even so, it is important to mention that you can try, because each insurance company has its conditions, so there could be some opportunity to reach agreements and that you can sign the policy and be insured.
Here the most important thing is that you inform yourself very well about it with the companies with which you are interested in being insured and verify if it is possible to access any policy with them.
Is it possible to choose a doctor with health insurance?
Yes, most insurance companies give you the freedom to choose the doctor you want to see, as well as to manage your consultations, tests, and check-ups.
Most insurers have a medical chart or guide in which you can see all the professionals with whom you can receive care and based on what you need and inform yourself, you can choose the one you prefer.
Generally, these guides or lists are extensive and allow you to choose within your area of residence between several professionals of the same specialty and different care centers, such as clinics and hospitals.
It is more than likely that you will find the specialist you are looking for or that you need.
Can I attend abroad?
The answer to this question about health insurance depends on the type of policy you decide to take out. International health insurance gives you the ability to receive medical care wherever you want or require it.
In conventional health insurance, you have to take into account that there is a difference between going abroad specifically to attend to an illness or to undergo intervention and suffer an emergency while there traveling, for example.
Both situations can be covered by health insurance, but this will depend on the policy you hire. Insurance that includes care in different parts of the world and covers emergencies is usually more expensive.
Why does the health insurance premium increase every year?
The premium of health insurance and, in general, of any insurance increases every year due to different factors such as:
- Age of the insured: the older the age, the higher the cost
- National and sector-specific inflation
- General accident rate
- Total covered expenses of insured persons
Generally, when health insurance is contracted, the conditions stipulated in it are maintained for a period, established in the contract. Agreements are typically valid for 12 months from the time they are signed or terminated each year on December 31 no matter when you were hired.
This means that, for example, you can take out health insurance in August and December 31, because it is the end of the calendar year, and there may be an increase in the premium according to the factors mentioned in the previous list.
You must inform yourself about the validity of the conditions to avoid unpleasant surprises when hiring health insurance.
Can I take out health insurance if I suffer from an illness?
The answer will depend on different factors, such as the policy you want to hire, the disease you suffer, and the company that will provide the service.
Most insurance companies usually have among their procedures the completion of a questionnaire in which you must indicate if you have suffered or suffered any illness or injury or if you have been operated on for some reason.
The most important thing is that you are absolutely honest to prevent the policy from being canceled later. Currently, many insurers offer a series of products that adapt to your circumstances and ailments.
These ailments or diseases are called pre-existences and can cause you to be denied the opportunity to take out health insurance, but this is not always the case.
What you can do is make a comparison between the products that currently exist in the market and hire the health insurance that best suits your conditions. The cost will likely rise, depending on your ailments, but there are chances that you will be entitled to take out health insurance even with pre-existing conditions.
Can an older adult purchase health insurance?
Most insurers set an age limit in their acceptance policies, which is usually up to 64, because the older they get, then the more likely they are to suffer.
In case you are within the age limit, the insurance institution will subject you to a rigorous selection process to know how you are in health, what diseases you suffer, which ones you are prone to and which ones you are about to contract.
You should buy the plan beforehand, in this way, you can keep the health insurance for as long as you want, as long as you keep up to date in the payment of premiums.
Health insurance for people over 60 years of age is usually more expensive and has specific coverage for this group of vulnerable people. Among them are specialized medical consultations, home consultations, frequent health check-ups, home laboratory tests, and nurses.
Insurers are within their rights to submit you to different medical examinations and make the final decision depending on the results. It will also be up to you whether or not you accept if you are a candidate, the cost of the policy.
Does health insurance cover cosmetic surgeries?
No, health insurance does not provide this coverage; it can only occur in special cases, due to the high cost they represent. Policies only cover these expenses when there is a health problem behind it, such as an accident or illness.
Reconstructive or reconstructive surgery refers to an intervention that is responsible for correcting possible physical damages caused by an accident, illness, or operation. The objective of this is to improve the quality of the patient at the body level.
In this case, it can be included in the health insurance coverage, since it is not only a banal act but has an impact on the day-to-day of the insured and makes it impossible in some way.
To know if the health insurance contracted covers these conditions, it is important that you see the clauses of the policy and, if you still do not hire it, ask the advisors directly so that you do not have any doubt about it.
If I want to take out health insurance, should I have to undergo medical examinations?
This will depend on the company with which you want to take out health insurance. Some ask you to present a medical examination to verify the state of health in which you are and others, to fill out a questionnaire in which you must specify the previous ailments or diseases that you suffer or suffered.
Also, there are some products in which you are not required to deliver any type of documentation related to this. You have to consult with the insurer about the procedures to follow before knowing if you are a candidate or not for a health policy.
From the results of medical studies, it is usually decided if you can buy health insurance and, in case of suffering from ailments or diseases, it may happen that the price of the premium increases due to the risk it represents for the insurer.
In case you only need to fill out a questionnaire, you must be honest about what you know about your ailments because if not, the company can cancel your insurance and you would be unprotected without any guarantee.
Even, in some cases, you also lose the right to receive some type of reimbursement from the insurer, since irregularities are usually punishable.
It is always best to accept a small increase in your policy, but be sure that you will be protected regardless of the panorama that arises.