How to change insurance?

[natalca]

Hi! I'm new here and my english is not perfect, but i really need an advice on how can I change my insurance company. We are having Kaiser now and i'm not happy with it. I'd like to visit one particular doctor and he doesn't take Kaiser. I've applyed to BCBS and just got letter from them - i'm not eligible for the coverage because of hep C. Should I try to apply to other providers (like Aetna..., ) or I'll have the same result?  Do I have to mention about Hep C at all?  Thank you.

[natalca]

Thank you for your attention to my questions. My husband has his own business  and we pay for insurance as individuals (family of 4 on one plan). As i can read here a lot of people has insurance problems, now i feel luky to even have one . Main reason I was thinking about switching ins. company - I wanted to see other doctor who participate in hep C trial. Doc. in Kaiser only can offer traditional way, which will give me no more then 40% chance for success (1b,very high VL, normal ALT AST). Or do i really need to have insurance to participate in trial treatment? Aren't they usually free for patients? More i think about all this more i feel lost :(.

[Proactive]

Might not hurt to give your states insurance div office a call for additional info...Various states also have some protection in place regarding pre-existing conditions...For example, In smaug48's state, one can change HOM's without penalty, regardless of a pre exisiting condition such as hcv

[smaug48]

It must be a challenge to try to navigate the US healthcare system with English as a second language.  Your English is fine, btw.

I'm no expert on health insurance, but one question is whether you are paying for the insurance as an individual or if you have it through where you work, or perhaps a working partner/spouse.  It sounds like you are paying for insurance as an individual.  If that is the case, then I'm guessing your chances of getting insurance from another company while having hep C is probably close to zero.

If you have your own small business, sometimes you can get insurance through a chamber of commerce or some other member-based business association.  It's when you are part of a larger group of customers that you might have some leverage to choose a different insurance company.  So, if you do have your own business, you could check into local business organizations and see if they have any health insurance options.

Maybe someone else has other advice.  

Best of luck to you!