03-05-2010, 12:47 PM
Kathy, HMSA is the Hawaii version of Blue Cross, IIRC. Kaiser screens for pre-existing conditions, but I don't know how they would deal with any specific illness. I suppose it would depend on what it was and its severity. They took me without any problems, but my only pre-existing issue was very, very far from life threatening and cheap to treat with a generic maintenance med.
I have noticed some tightening at Kaiser that I mentioned earlier in this thread, but I should add that I hear a lot more horror stories about HMSA. In my circle of acquaintances, Carol's sort of experience is fairly common.
Having said all that, the issues with pre-existing conditions, bean counters dictating treatment, and generally poor service from insurance companies are not unique to the Big Island. What compounds those issues are the very limited on-island treatment options. With such a small pool of medical resources, the limitations that are common to insurance companies everywhere become horror stories.
I have noticed some tightening at Kaiser that I mentioned earlier in this thread, but I should add that I hear a lot more horror stories about HMSA. In my circle of acquaintances, Carol's sort of experience is fairly common.
Having said all that, the issues with pre-existing conditions, bean counters dictating treatment, and generally poor service from insurance companies are not unique to the Big Island. What compounds those issues are the very limited on-island treatment options. With such a small pool of medical resources, the limitations that are common to insurance companies everywhere become horror stories.