Epilepsy insurance can be a challenge to purchase as it is treated as a pre-existing condition by many insurance companies even though the condition might have been discovered and diagnosed after the insurance policy in question became effective. Many times, epilepsy is not diagnosed until symptoms appear in childhood. A person insured should expect that their coverage will honor the obligation to pay for this disease, but if a company determines that symptoms were existent - but not diagnosed, the insurance company can treat it as a pre-existing condition and refuse coverage based upon its provisions for pre-existing conditions stated within its policy declarations.



Though it can be difficult, it is possible to get insurance for this condition, even though it might be at a significant premium. There are insurance advisors that can help you through this process, identifying the coverage you can purchase from different insurers and comparing apples to apples to help you make an informed decision.



There is always the option to not insure this condition. Once it is diagnosed, changing coverage might put you into a position that the condition will be excluded from coverage altogether or there might be a waiting period put in place. Should you choose not to cover the condition because it is cost-prohibitive, you would be on the hook for any treatment for ongoing care, regular checkups, medicines, etc. However, in the case of an extreme emergency - a life-threatening epileptic seizure, for example, you would be treated at a hospital that takes those patients without insurance. Though there are hospitals that treat the uninsured and bear the burden of those who cannot afford for their treatment, more and more hospitals are becoming aggressive in charging and effecting collection against these uninsured persons. Their aggressive actions have pushed many people with debilitating diseases to seek bankruptcy protection from collection agencies and garnishments against a paycheck that already does not meet the financial needs of someone with a medical condition like epilepsy.

Epilepsy insurance is becoming more available as insurance companies realize that the condition needs to be covered and they can garner a higher premium for the coverage. Before you blame the insurance companies, it is important to remember that they are not non-profit organizations, in the insurance industry, they make their money by playing the odds. They determine premiums based upon the odds that you will pay more to them than they will have to pay out for your care. This is precisely why it costs more to insure someone with a disease, or a smoker, or someone who is obese, etc. The statistics show that the insurance company, on average, will pay more to providers on the behalf of someone who is a smoker than someone who is not. They will pay more in claims for someone who is a diabetic patient than someone who is not.

Mini seizures, better known as focal seizures, are very easy to miss. Most commonly seen on the facial region of the individual it may appear closer to a small twitch in the eye or a tendency for the individual to stare out and away from the room. These seizures are not as noticeable as the grand mal seizure because the grand mal seizure involves a loss of consciousness, full body convulsions and disorientation after the seizure. This doe not make the mini seizure any less dangerous than the grand mal seizure though.

The mini seizure is caused by a concentrated misfiring of the nerves and synapse in the brain. This causes the muscles to twitch in a very specific spot. The spot of the seizure activity corresponds with the section of the brain that is experiencing the malfunction. This is very is very similar to how a computer reacts when part of the hard drive is subjected to an electrical surge. The computer begins to act funny and information that is stored on that section of the hard drive is activated. The continual application to electricity will eventually damage the files on the hard drive, effectively crippling the computer. This is the same theory as to what is occurring in the brain. If the mini seizures continue, the section of the brain that is being affected by the seizures may eventually become too damaged and not function properly.

Grand mal seizures are characterized through the loss of consciousness in the victim. This is not always the case with the mini seizure, although this can occur. The victim may be aware of what is happening to his or her body but may not be able to control the actions of the body. This can make the condition more terrifying for the victim and therefore more stressful. In some cases, the mini seizure may cause the individual to become involved in a vehicular collision or other form of accident that the individual was able to see beginning to occur but not be able to do anything to stop the accident. In other cases, the mini seizure can cause a loss of consciousness. In this case, the victim is unaware of what is going on and is not conscious.