The question of insurance cover for HIV/AIDS has been one of the most sensitive questions for a number of people for a long long time.
Part of this is historical in that when HIV/AIDS became known as affecting many people some years, insurance companies rushed to deny all types of coverage to any person who was HIV positive, by way of health insurance, life insurance and pension entitlements etc.
There was also a general perception that insurance companies targeted people who they deemed to be at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and excluded all types of insurance for them as well.
That is partly the reason why many people will want to know if their health insurance can still exclude HIV/AIDS. Health insurance companies cost their policies on the basis of what is known as medical underwriting.
This means that they look at an individual and the environment, their lifestyle and their approach to health generally and decide what level of risk they perceive them as being.
The higher the risk, the more they are likely to charge as an insurance premium as well as excluding a certain number of conditions that they may perceive as being likely to cost them a significant amount of money.
Existing Pre-Conditions
Much has been written and said about not insuring or excluding people who have preconditions, and the basis of how that affects medical underwriting may change over time, but it is too early to tell at the moment.
Insurance companies exist to make money for themselves and their stockholders, and in the end they do that by taking in more money than they pay out claims. That will always affect their rationale as to how much money they charge as a premium and what they exclude as being conditions/illnesses that they perceive will cost them money.
When looking at whether or not your health insurance plan excludes HIV/AIDS it is a good idea to read the small print (as ever) in part because it may not be apparent what the exclusions always are.
It is quite possible that in addition to excluding HIV/AIDS as a pre-existing condition the insurance company would also exclude anyone contracting HIV/AIDS as a condition within a certain time frame of the policy i.e. 6/12 months.
As with any type of health insurance plan it is crucial to look at the detail to understand specifically what is included and excluded. Most health insurance companies do not provide this detail until you have signed up for their policy, and this can be a real problem. It is worth diligent questioning an insurance company to find out the situation prior to signing up for one of their health insurance plans.
