Medical underwriting determines if an applicant is eligible for coverage based on their health, with insurers arguing it helps make premiums more accessible. However, it has been restricted by law in some states, with concerns it prevents some from receiving coverage. Conditions such as heart disease, arthritis, and cancer may result in denial of coverage, while less serious conditions like obesity and old injuries may also be considered. Millions of people in the US are considered uninsurable due to pre-existing conditions.
An underwriting physician determines whether or not an applicant should receive medical coverage based on the patient’s current or pre-existing medical conditions. After evaluating a candidate’s health, an underwriting physician can accept or deny insurance coverage for the individual and, if the candidate is accepted, can determine what premium rate to set for that particular client, based on the financial risk this poses. implies. accept the applicant. Although it was created with the aim of reducing insurance premiums for individuals, the practice of medical underwriting can be considered a harsh practice by some who do not receive coverage based on a minor condition. Insurers, however, may argue that the practice prohibits people from seeking coverage strictly when surgery or other expensive medical procedures are needed.
Some insurers may claim that by making some applicants ineligible, the return investment on insurance premiums is leveraged, helping to make them more accessible to the masses and helping to secure some monetary return for the insurer. Due to the negative reception of medical underwriting by some people in the United States, the practice has been restricted by law in certain states and by some insurance companies. In turn, these states generally maintain the highest average premiums in the country. While it could be argued that banning medical underwriting would allow uninsurable claimants to receive some coverage, insurers generally argue that waiving the practice would further increase premiums and prevent healthy individuals with no pre-existing conditions from being able to afford insurance. or medical coverage.
Some medical conditions that could result in a medical underwriter denying coverage to an individual could include more serious conditions such as heart disease, arthritis and most cancers. Less serious and generally curable conditions such as obesity, anorexia and old injuries may also prevent certain individuals from being accepted by an insurer. The set of criteria taken into account by an underwriting physician may vary depending on the insurance provider or the state or region in which the applicant resides. Currently, millions of people living in the US are considered uninsurable due to some pre-existing condition that may or may not be serious enough to warrant denial of a premium. That concern continues to spark debates across the country.
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