I've been searching all over the 'net and am not sure where to find advice, so I am hoping that some of my colleagues at my favourite WWW site (s2ki) can help:


In February of 1999, I injured my knee while snowboarding at Lake Tahoe. It was very bad, and very painful (I had to ride down the sled and visit the ER). After a visit to the orthopedic surgeon and MRI scans, it was determined that I had a torn ACL, probably a torn MCL, and would require surgery.

Accordingly, I had the surgery date set for about a month later, and a pre-op visit a few days before then. During the time before the pre-op visit, my condition improved dramatically. I went from being on crutches, to limping with a knee brace, to walking without it, to very nearly normal.

Possibly due to this, when I went in for the pre-op visit, the doctor moved my knee around to test it's "looseness," and decided to cancel the surgery. He said, it feels "too good," that maybe the ligament was hanging on by a thread (the MRI scans were taken with lots of swelling and not ideal) and might grow back on its own. He advised me to wait a month or two, then get another scan.

A month or two came and went, and due to my own negligence I did not get another MRI scan. My knee was doing great, and I didn't feel want to undergo surgery unless it was absolutely necessary. I showed absolutely no signs of injury over the next two years, even the occasional "slip" or "pop" that some people report.

In August 2001, I lost my job and thus medical insurance. I opted not to have the continued (COBRA) coverage.

As fate would have it, my knee started showing symptoms of weakness around December when I went skiing (swelling, etc) that Christmas, and has slowly been deteriorating since then. Two months ago, my knee gave out while I was playing football, which further worsened it. Due to the popping and clicking sounds that come from my knee, I now believe I have damaged the cartillage/meniscus.

So now I am at a loss for what to do regarding insurance. I will be starting a contract-to-perm position that begins on April 1 and lasts for six months. During this time, I have the option to purchase health insurance independently. After the six month period, if I take a permanent position, then I will recieve medical insurance from the company.

I understand that there are certain "pre-exisiting conditions" that apply to insurance coverages. I really need to get my knee fixed soon because I know now that any amount of stress is making it only worse.

If there are any doctors or people in the insurance industry who have heard of cases like this, I would really really appreciate your advice as to how I should handle this. Specifically, I don't know about:

1) Will either insurance (pre-purchased or company covered in Sept.) pay for the cost of a knee surgery?

2) If so, is there a minimum time that I must be a customer before making a claim like this?

3) Should I purchase the independent insurance and make a claim, or wait until Sept?

4) Am I completely on my own since it is pre-existing? I have heard the surgery costs around $17k, and to pay out of pocket the S2000 will have to go

Thanks in advance....

Joseph