Health Insurance for Pre-existing Conditions
Finding the right health insurance for you and your family can sometimes be a challenging task that requires a lot of time and research. If you have a pre existing condition, you can still find health insurance, but the task may be even a little more challenging. The good news is there is important legislation that will help ensure that if you have health coverage through your employer, your coverage is required to be continued in certain cases. For example, if you currently have coverage through your job and you are preparing to change jobs, there is little need to worry because you are covered by The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 which will help to ensure your continued coverage even after you leave your job.
The largest single benefit of this legislation is that for employees that have been part of a group health insurance plan (or an individual health insurance plan such as through Medicare, Medicad, or some other public health insurance plan option) for more than one year, there will be no pre existing conditions exclusion of new group health insurance when the employee enrolls in the new group health insurance plan. The law also puts limits on the exclusion of coverage for pre existing conditions, applies credit for previous health insurance coverage, and provides a method to obtain certificates validating prior health insurance coverage to the new group health plan provider. Further, it prohibits any discrimination in the ability to enroll or in the amount of premiums paid by employees and their dependents based on health conditions. Finally, HIPAA also provides some protection for obtaining health insurance to employees as well as the employers who sponsor a variety of health insurance plans.