Obtaining Health Insurance With Crohn's

by John Fierro
(Mesa, AZ )

My 24 year old son was just diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. He has recently applied for admission into optometry school. He can/will be covered under our insurance until he's 26. Hopefully at that point, he will be in the middle of his optometry curriculum.
Can anyone offer any information on obtaining health insurance? I contacted the Arizona State agency dealing with insurance for people with pre-existing conditions. I was informed that he would not be able to apply for coverage since he is currently covered. Starting in 2014, insurance companies can no longer exclude people from coverage due to pre-existing conditions. He will be 26 in August of 2013. At that point, he will be without coverage until 2014 arrives but according to current regulations, he cannot apply for coverage until he has been without coverage for 6 months (who came up with that regulation?) which means he cannot apply until February of 2014.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I know I have 2 years to deal with this and who knows what the government will come up with by then but I'm just trying to be pro-active.

Just a thought, instead of us sending billions of dollars to other countries, can't we help our own first and then take care of the rest of the world?

Sincerely,
John