Insurance rates after sister donates? Help!

[Sunny]

My potential sister donor called today to say she priced health insurance for after possibly giving me a kidney.
Here in California, she called two Insurance Companies that gave her one price as she is now, and then another price after she donates. The premium doubles if she donates a kidney to me.For example, pre-transplant she would pay $325/mth; post-transplant $760/mth. Her COBRA runs out Sept 30th so she needs new insurance. She wants us to pay the difference till she gets on Medicare at 65 years of age. That would mean $35,000 over the next 7 years.
Is this how it works for living donors? This is going to be my downfall. I will never allow my husband to pay her $35,000 over the next 7 years. Plus, we already agreed to pay her lost salary while she's on disability, which she says is 3 months.
WHat is your knowledge of this. Is donating a kidney a pre-existing condition? She's the healthiest speciman ever. Stanford has already proven that with all the tests the've given her.

[okarol]

Wow. These are not issues she should dump on you, in my opinion. If she needs guidance she should be getting help from the transplant hospital social worker, coordinator or donor advocate.
Does she plan to stop working? If she has a job then she would be covered by a group plan, if her employer has one, and they would not be able to exclude her.
The pre-existing condition is supposed to be a thing of the past in the Obamacare bill. I wish your sister would go post her questions/concerns on the forum for living donors http://www.livingdonorsonline.org - there are so many knowledgeable people who have been through the donation process.
..........
Found on LDO:
The Department of Health and Human Services announced availability of a new source of medical insurance for people who have been denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) is important for living donors who have been required to pay substandard premiums or been denied coverage on account of being a donor. Formation of this program was a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka "health care reform") signed into law on March 23, 2010.

Individuals who have been uninsured for at least six months because of a pre-existing condition can purchase coverage through PCIP. The options, which vary by state, can be viewed at http://www.healthcare.gov/index.html. The program provides a source of medical insurance until 2014, when medical plans are prohibited from having pre-existing condition exclusions. (Plans are currently barred from such exclusions only for children under age 19.)

The HHS press release with more details on the program can be found here: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/07/20100701a.html
.........

Has the hospital already approved her? Has she passed the psychological evaluation? Seems like there have been so many obstacles that she would not be considered as a suitable donor.

I am so sorry about all this. The stress on you has got to be huge!
 

[Sunny]

Okarol,
We already went to healcare.gov as you provide a link too.
My sister's Cobra runs out sept30th and she can qualify for a policy via HIPAA which states she can not be denied on the basis of a pre-existing condition, such as kidney donation. However, that does not prevent the Insurance companies from charging a higher premium because of a pre-existing condition, which they are doing. She is self-emplolyed since being layed off 18 months ago. These means she has no disability insurance so we offered to pay rent and expenses for her time off. Then Stanford seemed to indicate she would never be considered a pre-existing condition nor be charged higher insurance rates so this insurance issue did not come up till now, when her COBRA runs out. She received two quotes from insurance companies using HIPAA. HIPAA provides guaranteed continuous coverage once COBRA runs out for people in this situation so a person will have no lapse in coverage nor can be denied coverage. But the rates for a donor are astronomical. I have a call in to my Stanford Social Worker regarding this issue of paying higher insurance premiums because of kidney donation. This doesn't seem right.

[okarol]

I know about Cobra extensions and HIPPA as we have been paying $20,000 a year for our family's health insurance since my husband became disabled 8 years ago. The rate is ridiculous but we could not risk a lapse in coverage due to Jenna's condition. I hope you find a better answer.

[KarenInWA]

I think it is beyond cruel punishment that insurance companies are currently allowed to charge a kidney or liver donor astronomical rates, or deny them coverage.  Personally, I think this borders on criminal and there needs to be a law against this kind of thing.  Anyone who donates their organ while living and breathing on this earth needs to be treated like the heroes they are, not as some kind of medical reject.  It's embarrassing that we, the land of the "free" allow this to happen.

KarenInwA

[Sunny]

We have resolved the issue of buying new health insurance for my potential sister donor.
Turns out as a self emplyed Realter/Appraiser, she can get Insurance through the California Realtors Association group policy. They do charge $200 more per mnth in premiums because she is having surgery within 6 months of getting the policy. But they also said after 6 months, she will be reavaluated for the lower rate she would normally pay.The transplant center agrees to sign a health report attesting to her good health as necessary. That means my husband and I will only pay  the extra premium for the policy for 6 months. I do not feel my sister should be out any reasonable expenses and am very relieved of resovling this. Not nearly the expense I thought it was going to be. Such is life in America when trying to get health insurance.
We had heard about transplant centers having special funds to cover expenses and asked about it for her, but we are told she makes too much money.Seems crazy because the "too much money" she made was unemployment after being laid off from her job of many years 18 months ago.Plus she has depleted her savings just surviiving in this economy.
Anyway, I wanted to update this information in case any other living donors should run into this predicament.