Have the health insurance laws changed?

[dosorrow]

My husband was laid off four years ago and got a job where they didn't have company health insurance but they offered to pay for individual insurance for our family. Of course I was surprised when Blue Shield turned me down with a letter that told me that in order to be reconsidered I would have to have a normal healthy pregnancy first. When I called, even the agents on the phone were a little spooked by the letter's wording, but they confirmed it was because I took blood pressure medication a whole 3 weeks! during and right after my pregnancy. The only insurance I can find is high risk insurance with no pregnancy coverage and its pretty overpriced. At this point paying my doctor cash for check ups is cheaper. People keep insisting that the laws have changed and I should look into insurance again. Have they changed? I don't want to go through all that again unless I get results.

[sarah79]

I'm not sure if anything has changed with the laws this year but I tried to get individual health insurance through BCBS at the beginning of 2011 and I was denied because I had preeclampsia in 2010. They said they had to cover pregnancy complications so I would not be able to get individual insurance with them until I had gone 5 years with no pregnancy complications.

[caryn]

http://www.healthcare.gov/law/features/ ... index.html has some information.

[alviarin]

I was also turned down by private insurance, but my state has a high-risk pool for patients who have been denied individual coverage. It doesn't cover routine pregnancy but would cover things like an emergency c-section.

Ironically it is managed by the same insurer that turned me down originally.