If you or a family member has a pre-existing condition, getting health care insurance may appear to be a mountainous, if not impossible task. In scenarios where your or a family member’s condition is covered by the health insurance provided by your employer and you will be retiring in the near future, the chances of finding coverage seem bleakest.

Even if there is a probability that you may get coverage for the pre-existing condition, chances are high that the premiums will burn a much bigger hole in your pocket.
All hope is not lost though; there are certain ways and certain arrangements through which you can get coverage for your pre-existing condition.

• Search and access whether your state has high-risk pool. These pools are specifically available for people with pre-existing conditions who cannot avail an affordable insurance coverage. About thirty states have state high risk pools which cover around 175,000 people. The American Diabetes Association website has a list of these states and also information on contacting the concerned institution.
• If you have been involuntarily terminated from employment before May 31, 2010, you can get COBRA. According to the Department of Labor website such individuals can continue to pay reduced (65 percent less) premiums for up to 15 months as far as they are not covered under any other group health plan or Medicare. Note though that COBRA can be very expensive; however, it may be your only option.
• You should apply for new health insurance within 63 days of losing the cover provided by your employer. To put in insurance lingo, ‘the insurer of last resort’ – a state designated company has to provide coverage to ‘all comers’ i.e. applicants. However, be sure to check with the eligibility criteria.
• Check whether your professional organization offers any kind of group insurance. Various organizations, like those of realtors, free lance writers offer group plans and hence, if you belong to one such organization, it may just be easy to get coverage for that pre-existing condition.
• Try becoming a ‘group of one’. Quite a few states have the provisions wherein you can become a group of one for insurance purpose. Becoming a group of one translates to you becoming an entity just as a company and hence, insurers cannot deny you the insurance coverage and/or charge you higher premiums due to your pre-existing condition. If you cannot become a group of one in your state, become a group of two to avail that insurance.

If things don’t work out even with these options, you may consider moving to states like New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland or Vermont. Even though these states (with the exception of Maryland) don’t have high-risk pool, in these states, every insurance company has to sell to you and there is a limit to how much they can charge you as well.