Getting a MedSupp with Chronic Kidney Disease

[zergkiller]

Quite some time ago, I asked if it were possible to get a Med Supp if you had Chronic Kidney Disease and was pretty much sent out on the rainbow path of looking for a pot of gold.

As it turns out, I have CKD and DID get a Med Supp with Medico. As the health questions are read, you only check yes if you have CKD and are either taking medicine or on dialysis. I am doing neither.

I did have to fight for it. But my kidney doctor tells me that my condition is not uncommon at all. He has told me for three years that I will never need any treatment, and that kidneys just sort of wear out. And I had to call a Chief Underwriter, who took my case to the VP of Underwriting, but it worked.

There's another thing about Medico that is worth mentioning. If you are a T-65, they don't count it if you smoke. The client gets a preferred rating, that of a non-smoker. At least that was true this past fall. Things change, and then re-change to a new change.

 

[sman]

There's another thing about Medico that is worth mentioning. If you are a T-65, they don't count it if you smoke. The client gets a preferred rating, that of a non-smoker. At least that was true this past fall. Things change, and then re-change to a new change.

New Era does this too. At least they do here in Georgia.

 

[DS4]

There's another thing about Medico that is worth mentioning. If you are a T-65, they don't count it if you smoke. The client gets a preferred rating, that of a non-smoker. At least that was true this past fall. Things change, and then re-change to a new change.

That is true with all my companies on T65. This is not unique to Medico.

 

[zergkiller]

That is true with all my companies on T65. This is not unique to Medico.

Please don't tell anyone, but I'm a bit older than 65. Remember, you promised.

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New Era does this too. At least they do here in Georgia.

Great. And all smokers go to Medico. At least as far as I'm concerned. I sell for Oxford too, and I told them what happened. Maybe they care? IMHO, Chronic Kidney disease is negligible as long as you aren't taking medicine. No idea why other insurance companies do what they do.

For me, it was an InyourFace lesson on different insurance companies' practices. I had previously thought that the health questions were defined by Medicare, and that all of the forms were more or less identical.

 

[sman]

Please don't tell anyone, but I'm a bit older than 65. Remember, you promised. ---------- Great. And all smokers go to Medico. At least as far as I'm concerned. I sell for Oxford too, and I told them what happened. Maybe they care? IMHO, Chronic Kidney disease is negligible as long as you aren't taking medicine. No idea why other insurance companies do what they do. For me, it was an InyourFace lesson on different insurance companies' practices. I had previously thought that the health questions were defined by Medicare, and that all of the forms were more or less identical.

Why would you think Medicare defined the health questions for private insurance companies? Sure on a Medicare Advantage plan where they provide funding, but they don't provide anything to Med Supp carriers.

 

[somarco]

I had previously thought that the health questions were defined by Medicare, and that all of the forms were more or less identical.

Each carrier sets their own underwriting rules. Medicare has nothing to do with it and couldn't care less.

Underwriting is similar, but different from one carrier to the next. If they were all the same what fun would that be?

 

[zergkiller]

Why think such a thing?

No real explanation for that. The pages just looked the same I guess.

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Each carrier sets their own underwriting rules. Medicare has nothing to do with it and couldn't care less.

Underwriting is similar, but different from one carrier to the next. If they were all the same what fun would that be?

I guess one thing that I thought was that it would be so difficult to tell the difference between companies that a study of the differences wouldn't be practical. I knew that some people argued with the underwriters, but from what I knew, it was about mistakes on the application or misunderstandings, and not the basic rules. So any successful contestation was too personalized to track, and it could also be just a temporary reaction.

There's a long story here that I've skipped, but this is a part of it: Before I filled out the application, I had noticed the difference and thought it might be a typo or just semantics, so I called underwriting and told them my story. They said it probably would be fine, that I had correctly interpreted the words, and to send my app in. So I did. And they refused me! In the interview, I told the same story to the underwriter and her reaction was that Chronic Kidney Disease was a serious malady. I told her what my doctor had said to me two weeks earlier, and thought it would be fine. Words or not, her reaction was the standard refusal you get from MOFO and Oxford. I called Jason Arnold, my upline guy, and he was the one who gave me the magic words "Senior Underwriter." So I called underwriting, used the magic words, and got through.

 

[somarco]

Congratulations. Some battles are worth fighting, some not.

CKD is staged, 1 - 5

Stage 1 & 2 can be managed and in many cases a long life can be anticipated. Once you get to stage 3 it is more difficult to stop the slide toward renal failure.

I don't know your age, nor am I a doctor, but it is quite possible Medico factored your age, staging, etc and felt it was worth a chance.

 

[zergkiller]

Congratulations. Some battles are worth fighting, some not.

CKD is staged, 1 - 5

Stage 1 & 2 can be managed and in many cases a long life can be anticipated. Once you get to stage 3 it is more difficult to stop the slide toward renal failure.

I don't know your age, nor am I a doctor, but it is quite possible Medico factored your age, staging, etc and felt it was worth a chance.

Exactly. That's what happened. I never got to first base with the other two. (MOFO and Oxford.) As far as I can tell, Stage 1, which is "normal" and stage 2, are irrelevant.

 

[goillini52]

Why think such a thing?

No real explanation for that. The pages just looked the same I guess.

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I guess one thing that I thought was that it would be so difficult to tell the difference between companies that a study of the differences wouldn't be practical. I knew that some people argued with the underwriters, but from what I knew, it was about mistakes on the application or misunderstandings, and not the basic rules. So any successful contestation was too personalized to track, and it could also be just a temporary reaction.

There's a long story here that I've skipped, but this is a part of it: Before I filled out the application, I had noticed the difference and thought it might be a typo or just semantics, so I called underwriting and told them my story. They said it probably would be fine, that I had correctly interpreted the words, and to send my app in. So I did. And they refused me! In the interview, I told the same story to the underwriter and her reaction was that Chronic Kidney Disease was a serious malady. I told her what my doctor had said to me two weeks earlier, and thought it would be fine. Words or not, her reaction was the standard refusal you get from MOFO and Oxford. I called Jason Arnold, my upline guy, and he was the one who gave me the magic words "Senior Underwriter." So I called underwriting, used the magic words, and got through.

OK, I have to ask...who is MOFO? Love the abbreviation! I'm guessing MoO.