Sample Medical Underwriting Questions

If you can say “no” to the following questions, and your height and weight are inside the limits of the chart below, you are a good candidate to pass medical underwriting for a Medicare Supplement. We can submit an application for a lower rate for your Medicare Supplement any time of year.

1. Have medical tests, treatment, therapy, or surgery been advised but not performed or is any surgery anticipated? (This excludes mammograms, pap tests, colonoscopies, or PSA tests which were advised for routine screening purposes only.)
2. Are you currently confined, scheduled for admission, or in the last two (2) years have you been confined to a nursing facility or assisted living facility?
3. Do you currently receive home health care services or, in the last two (2) years, have you received home health care services for more than three (3) separate periods of care?
4. Do you currently have a terminal illness or are you currently in the hospital, pending hospital admission, or have you been hospitalized more than two (2) times in the last two (2) years?
5. Do you currently receive assistance bathing, transferring, toileting, eating, dressing, or are you bedridden; or have you been advised by a medical professional to use the assistance of a wheelchair, walker, or motorized mobility aid?
6. Do you have now or in the last two (2) years have you been treated for (including surgery) or advised by a medical professional to have treatment or surgery for the following conditions:
   
   • internal cancer, leukemia, malignant melanoma, Hodgkin’s disease, or lymphoma?
   • angina, atherosclerosis, arteriosclerosis, peripheral vascular disease, heart attack, irregular heartbeat, atrial fibrillation, cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, angioplasty, stent placement, carotid artery disease, coronary artery disease (CAD), heart valve surgery, coronary bypass, cardiac pacemaker, implantable or subcutaneous defibrillator? (You should answer NO if your only treatment is with maintenance medication.)
   • Parkinson’s disease, myasthenia gravis, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease)?
   • Paget’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, disabling arthritis, systemic lupus, osteoporosis with fractures, or paralysis?
   • chronic kidney disease, Addison’s disease, renal insufficiency, renal failure, any kidney disease requiring dialysis, pancreatitis, or any condition requiring an organ transplant?
   • diabetes with hypertension requiring three (3) or more hypertension medications to control or diabetes requiring more than 50 units of insulin daily to control?
   • diabetes with: neuropathy, retinopathy, vascular disease, or tobacco use?
   • chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD), emphysema, chronic bronchitis, or any other chronic lung or respiratory disorder requiring the use of oxygen?
   • depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or a paranoid disorder?
   • dementia, senility, Alzheimer’s disease, or organic brain disorder?
   • unrepaired aneurysm, hemophilia, anemia requiring repeated blood transfusions, or any other blood disorder?
   • hepatitis (other than hepatitis A), alcohol or drug abuse, cirrhosis of the liver, or other liver disease?
   • stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA)?
7. Do you have now or at any time have you been treated for or advised by a medical professional to have treatment for amputation caused by disease or organ transplant (other than corneas)?
8. Have you ever been diagnosed with or received medical advice or treatment from a physician or an appropriately licensed clinical professional acting within his/her scope for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), AIDS Related Complex (ARC), or Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection?

Height and Weight Guidelines:

Please review the height and weight chart below. Applicants whose weight is outside the limits in the chart do not qualify for coverage. Selected conditions include tobacco use, diabetes or maintenance medications for heart and vascular conditions. Applicants with one of the selected conditions whose weight is greater than the maximum weight in the “Maximum weight with selected conditions” column do not qualify for coverage.