What Do You Mean "That's Not Covered?"� Common Exclusions

Am I covered on my health plan? Does This Mean I'm paying premiums for nothing? Common exclusions vary from insurance carriers and what one may cover the others may not. Getting to know what the common lists are is half the battle and will help you make some important decisions about your health care needs. Let's take a look at the most common exclusions.

One of the most common exclusions is home care or private nursing. A lot of people don't realize that these two things are not covered. Patients sometimes take these for granted as covered under their health care program even though most of the time they're not. Another good thing to remember is that these two exclusions could be listed under something else and you might not see them right away. If you can't find them, it's always good to ask.

Behavioral problems are sometimes covered under health care programs, but most of the time they are not. Many reasons for this as behavioral problems can last for many years and the cost could bankrupt most insurance companies. Behavioral or learning problems are one of the most common health care problems especially in children and people are just realizing this. Health care companies are now realizing this and some companies are covering it but for the most part it's excluded.

Abortions are one of the hottest and more conversional subjects people talk about in today's society. Elective abortions are also excluded from health care insurance. With all the legal issues that can be involved with abortions you really can't blame the health care companies for that stance. Excluding elective abortions is a natural reaction.

There are some very common items too that you think would be covered but just aren't. Band Aids, telephones, and some comfort items that aren't covered. You would think items that you would use all the time may be covered but they are not. Each company has their own list when it comes to the common items so you would have to check with the individual company.

Dental Care and Hearing/Vision care are another section of general health care insurance that isn't covered. For the most part these items are not covered as there is usually separate insurance for these items. Putting all this on one policy would make the policy quite expensive so excluding this makes good business sense for the health care industry.

Cosmetic surgery is another excluded item and it should be noted that circumcision is now considered cosmetic surgery under most health care plans and would not be covered. The past few years it has been covered but aren't anymore. Experimental treatments and drugs are also not covered on most insurance plans either.

A couple of important things that you should remember are to always try to keep a list handy of things that is excluded on your health insurance. Why you may ask? Sometimes after a hospital stay you could actually get a bill for an item that was already paid for by your insurance. Itemize your hospital bill so you can make sure your not being overcharged for anything while you were there. Some states actually mandate what services that maybe excluded and what ones can. You will have to check with each individual state to see what is covered and what isn't. Now some insurance companies will have a long list of exclusions while others will only list a few. Be weary of the small list as they may be disguising their exclusions under different things they may not be under normally or listed somewhere throughout the policy.

Remember not everything is excluded and it's your job as a policyholder to find out what is excluded and what isn't. The insurance company won't volunteer any information if you don't ask for it. Health care insurance is an ever-changing market with sometimes changing weekly. Your exclusion list could change weekly to so keeping on top of it is also very important. Exclusion's list should always be kept on hand and updated as it becomes necessary. As long as you're prepared, you will be able to handle a situation that changes.