Phil,
I have very stubbornly applied for every long-term care insurance
policy that has come my way, and I have always been denied. I would expect
that any purveyor of long-term care insurance would automaticly exclude
anyone diagnosed with PD. I thought I could slip unnoticed into the (group)
long-term care insurance policy offered by the State of Wisconsin Bar
Association, which is fairly open in its enrollment policies on other benefit
plans for its members, but I was sadly mistaken.
The reason given every time for the denial is the diagnosis of PD.
One company asked in its "first interview" which medications I was taking; in
the "second interview" I was asked if I was diagnosed with PD because I was
prescribed sinemet. I was told the taking of the sinemet, and presumably
also the diagnosis of PD, resulted in my exclusion from the policy. Another
company told me that a diagnosis of PD at any time in the person's life
resulted in automatic exclusion from the policy even if the person was no
longer diagnosed with PD. (What about the 15 per cent or so of people that
are incorrectly diagnosed as having PD?). Another factor is that only a few
of the larger insurance companies offer this type of insurance, and I kept
butting my head against the same wall, the same exclusion for PD.
Obviously those of us with PD and other chronic illnesses, where there
is a very real possibility of the need for long-term care, can't rush in
after the diagnosis and expect the insurance companies to offer insurance for
us. The insurance companies are motivated by dollars, and we are a very bad
risk. I should have purchased this insurance in my 30s or 40s when all my
elderly clients were being actively pursued to purchase this new type of
insurance. I had no idea then that I would ever be diagnosed with PD or that
I would ever need long-term care.
If anyone does know of a company that does offer long-term care
insurance to PWP, please let me know, but I think I have covered the field.
BTW, Have a Happy Holiday Season, and Peace on Earth, Katie
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