Yes, you can get long term care insurance even if you have a pre-existing condition. You don’t need to be 100% healthy to get coverage for long term care. Although you can get favorable rates if you don’t have any condition, it’s still possible to get affordable premiums if you’re taking medications or having treatment to manage your condition.
So, does that mean all long term insurance companies will approve your application?
Not all insurers are the same. These companies look at health conditions differently, which means you need to compare companies first until you find one that will approve your application. It’s important to work with an agency that represents multiple long term care insurance providers and understands their underwriting guidelines.
What are the Most Commonly Accepted Pre-Existing Conditions?
1. Diabetes
It’s possible to get coverage if you have diabetes. But take note that carriers consider the type of diabetes you have before approving your application. People with Type I Diabetes cannot produce insulin to maintain normal glucose levels while people with Type II Diabetes can produce insulin but the body is resistant to moving sugar out of the bloodstream and is inefficient.
Carriers approve people with Diabetes Type II as long as they are controlling their condition through medication. Those with Diabetes Type I may get approval but only a few carriers will consider even if they are taking medications.
2. High Blood Pressure
If you have high blood pressure and you didn’t suffer from an attack for at least one year, carriers will approve your application.
3. High Cholesterol
Carriers will accept your long term care insurance application if you’ve managed your high cholesterol for at least one year.
4. Nicotine/Tobacco Use
It’s a misconception that you can’t get coverage for long term care insurance if you’re a smoker. You can still get coverage but take note that your chance of getting preferred health rating and affordable premiums decrease if you smoke heavily or worse you will get declined.
In case these conditions are combined with other health conditions, your likelihood of getting long term care insurance decreases. The most common combinations of conditions that are denied are those that are paired with height to weight ratio and tobacco use since the risk of becoming chronically ill is higher.
What are the Conditions and Reasons for Automatic Long Term Care Insurance Decline?
Here are some of the reasons why you can’t qualify for long term care insurance:
- You need help with any of the six activities of daily living –eating, bathing, dressing, transferring, toileting and incontinence.
- You are using a walker, wheelchair, motorized scooter or cane.
- You are on kidney dialysis, nebulizer or ventilator or oxygen.
- You are using narcotic pain medications.
- You are receiving disability benefits.
- You are in physical therapy.
Here are the common diagnosis, medical status, and personal health history that will prevent you from getting coverage for long term care:
- AIDS/HIV+
- Alzheimer’s
- ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease
- Cancers of bone, brain, esophagus, liver, pancreas, or stomach
- Cirrhosis of the liver
- Congested heart failure
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Dementia
- Chronic kidney disease
- Metastatic cancer
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Muscular Dystrophy
- Organ transplant (except kidney or cornea)
- Paralysis
- Parkinson’s disease
- Scleroderma
- Schizophrenia
- Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) within two years, or more than one TIA
How to Qualify for Long Term Care Insurance?
You can’t change your health history and erase your medical records but you can do things that can improve your chances of getting coverage.
1. Review your Medical Records
It’s important to know what your doctor is noting every time you visit. Check if their notes are accurate since your medical records have a weight on getting your application approved.
2. Be Honest
There’s no point in lying and hiding your past health history because you can’t simply erase your medical records. If you’re thinking about leaving out important health information or prescriptions you are currently taking, just don’t. This will create a red flag if your medical records don’t match the information you shared, which will result in underwriters digging deeper into your records to see if there’s something you missed disclosing.
3. Shop Around for Companies
One company may decline your application because of your health condition but another company may accept it. This isn’t far-fetched considering that every company has its own underwriting guidelines. So, it’s important to find a long term care insurance specialist that understands each company’s underwriting guidelines and can help you find a company that will accept your application.
Conclusion
Stop saying that you will never get long term care insurance because you have a pre-existing condition. Don’t count out yourself yet because every insurer looks at a health condition differently. We can help your long term care insurance application get approved even if you have pre-existing conditions. We’ll shop the market for you to save you time and money and offer multiple companies that offer the best chances of giving you coverage.
