a new DUer, MoonchildCA, has some great advice regarding medical costs

A post in a long thread reminded me of how helpful this advice was to another DUer--this was information that could be really beneficial to anybody who had a medical condition and was facing huge medical bills.

Since this isn't my advice or experience but someone else's, I can't verify what she/he is saying, but in light of the fact that the person whose post I read tonight is surely not alone, I thought it was worth reposting:

The Pre-existing Condition Plan is available now! I know--I have it. I had an extremely large fibroid, growing out of control. I didn't know what to do. My husband is self employed and we had no insurance. We were desperate and researching options and finally came across it. It is not the high-risk pool that you hear about more often, which is really costly. I'm 50 and pay $370 a month for excellent coverage. She would probably be one level up for rates. This program is paid for by the federal government and administered by the states. Just google "Florida PCIP."

I'm shocked by how many do not know about this program. Even people in the healthcare system that accept the insurance are not aware of it. I just got my friend signed up who suffers from fibromyalgia and many other associated conditions. All you need is a refusal letter from an insurance company, or a letter from a doctor or even a nurse practioner stating you have a condition--any condition. Also, you need to have not been covered for 6 months. My doctor wrote "large abdominal mass requiring surgery." That's it. We did not want to do any expensive diagnostics until I was covered.

The coverage is excellent. In network (and we have an extremely large network), it covers 85% with a $1500 deductible, and max. out of pocket is $2500. Doctors visits are a $25 dollar co-pay and prescriptions are $5 generic and $15 brand. It's so easy to sign up. In CA, if you sign up by the 15th, you are covered the first of the following month.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=1479094

Thank you, thank you, thank you, MoonchildCA! I've followed so many links in trying to track this post down that I've lost the person I was originally trying to respond to, but let's hope that my mistake benefits others who need this information.