I had no idea I had a pre-existing condition: Insurance denials

Jill's question [from January 2008]:
Hi, I was recently laid off from my job last October 2007 and I had insurance with B--- from June 1st until Dec. 1st. I landed a new job right away and started [insurance coverage] with Anthem on Dec. 1st.

All of a sudden I was receiving all of these bills from my doctors stating I owe $6,321 and another $375 for services I was covered on June - August of 2007. B--- states it was a pre-existing condition and they refuse to pay. I had no idea I had a pre existing condition. I have had skin cancer in various areas [where] I have had surgery claiming basil cell, melanoma for the last 2 years. I have never paid anything. B--- is stating since I came aboard to their policy having this "PRE-EXISTING CONDITION" and only being with them for a period of 6 months that they are not obligated to pay. I have never heard of this and had the highest insurance plan under my company, which filed Chapter 11 [bankruptcy proceedings] last fall. I also, when signing up for this insurance plan, never listed anything on paper what I have had done in the past. I just picked the plan so I had no idea I had to be with an insurance provider for a certain length of time or that having skin cancer in different spots of my body was pre-existing. It's not my fault I am in the telecom industry and get laid off all of the time and have to change insurance providers.

If I had known my bills were going to be over $7,000 and I had to stay with B--- for another year and pay more I would have.

Am I really responsible to pay this before Collections is after me?


Jill's conundrum is all too common. Google identifies 3,310,000 stories online with the phrase "I had a pre-existing condition."

Advice: Obamacare would make pre-existing conditions and these sad stories a thing of the past. Tell your Congressman to support it.

Read another pre-existing condition story. The source was the AllExperts website.