Something I don't understand

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I have been hearing having a AS diagnoses can keep you from getting insurance and maybe other things. But how can they know about your medical if they are kept private? No one is allowed to see them unless they have our permission. Even doctors aren't allowed to have other patients see your records and when you get hired, your medical records don't show up when they run a background check on you.


Or does this only happen in other countries? I heard in Australia, you medical records show up when you apply for a job. I think all they have to do is run a background check on you and bam your AS diagnoses shows up. Luckily it doesn't happen here in the US.

Not in the US, it's not even considered a disability here.
And I can't see where it could affect insurance in any way, it's not like there's any real treatment for it.
I wouldn't worry about it.

I don't know about Aspergers or the States specifically, the health insurance companies normally work on the basis of either not covering existing health problems or only providing limited cover. In principle they may never find out, but if you are caught lying they can always turn around and claim money back or even sue you. There are also circumstances where you may be required to have an assessment for a medical issue by a doctor appointed by the medical company, so here I doubt your medical history is protected from scrutiny one way or another.

I regret going to the hospital over a heart scare years ago - it turned out to be a false alarm BUT it doubled my medical insurance premium!! ! The insurance company didn't care that it turned out to be a false alarm - to them the fact that I'd attended hospital over a possible heart problem was enough to hit my premium.

it's one thing if you get insurance through your job... quite another if you're tryin to get it on your own... especially if you are expecting to cash in on disability... and it looks worse if say you got a dx way in the past but don't do anything about it for yrs and then suddenly try to get assistance for it sometime down the road... that can actually hurt your chance of getting help... since you've been fine for so long even WITH a dx.

edit: plus, if you're already getting tons of assistance... they can just straight up turn you down cause you're too expensive... is why smokers have trouble gettin policies too.

Welcome to WrongPlanet.

everyone who posted before you had 1000 plus posts

For most government related purposes (SSI, SSD, Medicaid, etc.) it is not considered a disabililty in the U.S. It is considered a disability in all U.S. educational institutions - you can request services or accommodations. It is also considered a disability under the ADA - if you tell your employer you have it, you can request "reasonable accommodations" and are protected from discrimination in theory (but rarely in practice).

Yes, medical records are private. However, there are many ways in which this privacy can be reduced. Often, doctors require new patients to provide their records from past doctors. Or they "strongly encourage" it by requiring lots of expensive tests if you don't share your records with them.

It's similar with insurance companies. Some require you to submit your records as part of the application and then decide what to charge you based on this, or turn you away if you're too costly.

Others only see what the doctors bill them for while you are covered. They could find out you have AS if they get billed for an AS-related doctor's visit and the doctor writes that AS was the reason for the visit. This could affect what the insurance company charges you in the future.