Better Care Medical

Mental health medical records - what are the underwriters seeing?

I have a mental health condition, just applied for health insurance and the underwriters need a copy of my medical records from my psychiatrist. Does anyone know what exactly they're seeing?? How detailed are these records? Do they see all the doctor's notes and everything?

Public Comments

1. This is starting to become a big concern. Did you know that some health insurance companies have a centralized database, so if you have a condition while under one carrier, the next will either exclude that condition, charge you high rates or reject you? With some car accidents, homeowners problems or health issues, it may be better to not report and just pay out of pocket. I'm sure the insurance companies are more than happy to lead you to want to do that anyway.
2. The insurance company will see any information you provide them, they are specifically looking for diagnosis, treatment frequency and medication information to base a rate for you health care coverage costs. Providers are not allowed to release "Psychotherapy" notes (notes containing specific information covered during counseling for things like rape, ptsd, etc.). You can look up information on what they can and can't do with your health care information and privacy protections provided for you at the HIPPA website. http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/consumer_summary.pdf