Chronic Conditions

International health insurance plans offered by Worldwide Health Options can usually provide you with coverage for chronic conditions.

A chronic condition is defined as; "a condition which can last longer than a year, has no known cure, and may require ongoing care". Examples of chronic conditions include such illnesses as Asthma, Diabetes, Arthritis, and heart disease.

Once a chronic condition has been diagnosed the likelihood of your requiring continual care for the rest of your life is extremely high. As chronic conditions have a higher chance of occurring in older individuals, it is important that you obtain comprehensive medical insurance prior to developing symptoms, as the condition may then be considered pre-existing.

Not all chronic conditions will be covered in full by a global health insurance plan, and some plans will place limits on the amount of treatment that a policyholder can receive. Some of the more common limits on chronic condition treatment include:

Acute Phases Only
If the plan only covers the Acute Phases of a chronic condition, it will cover you for treatment only when the symptoms “flare up”, or if they require special treatment over a short time period. If a plan only covers the acute phases of a condition then it will normally exclude palliative, or ongoing, treatment.

Annual Limit
The plan may impose an annual limit on the treatment of the condition. This will limit the treatment expenses of the condition to a specific sum, but will renew at the start of each policy year. An annual limit is usually applied to palliative treatment these will require on-going management throughout the course of a year.

Lifetime Limit
If the plan imposes a lifetime limit on a chronic condition it will allocate a specific sum to be used for the coverage and treatment of the condition over the lifetime of the policy. If treatment is received for a chronic condition under a lifetime limit earlier on in the policy, it raises the risk that the limit may be reached and no further coverage offered for the illness. Lifetime limits will not renew.

For more information on Chronic Conditions, international health insurance plans, Worldwide Health Options, or to receive a free quote, please contact us today.