On your own
If your company does not offer insurance, or if you are self-employed
or work freelance, you should purchase individual health insurance.
This allows you to choose a plan to fit your needs from the insurance
company of your choice. But let the buyer beware! Coverage and costs
vary widely from company to company. When you study policies, make
sure to consider the following:
- What medical services are covered
- What benefits are paid
- How much you must pay in deductibles
and coinsurance.
(Remember,
you may keep premiums down by accepting a higher deductible.)
Uh-oh ... you have a pre-existing condition!
When starting a new job, many people worry about losing coverage
due to a pre-existing condition. Keep in mind:
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
helps ensure continued health insurance coverage for employees and
their dependents. As of July 1, 1997, insurers can impose only one
12-month waiting period for any pre-existing condition treated or
diagnosed in the previous six months. Not only that, but your prior
group and individual comprehensive health insurance coverage or a
government healthcare program will be credited toward the pre-existing
condition exclusion period as long as you have maintained continuous
coverage without a break of more than 62 days. More good news: Contrary
to rumor, pregnancy is not considered a pre-existing condition! When
it's covered, it's treated like an illness. Newborns and adopted
children who are covered within 30 days are not subject to the 12-month
waiting period.
If you have had group or individual health coverage or a government
healthcare program for at least 12 months, and you start a new job
and go to a group plan, the new health plan cannot impose another
pre-existing condition exclusion period -- and if you had coverage
for less than 12 months, it's prorated. So if you have had prior
coverage for only six months, you may be subject to a six-month,
pre-existing condition exclusion period when you switch jobs. (If
you haven't been covered by any health insurance for more than 62
days, and you get a job that offers such coverage, you may be subject
to a 12-month pre-existing condition waiting period.)
If you have had coverage that meets the criteria, you should get
a Certificate of Credible Coverage from your previous insurance company
to give to the new one.
What about other exclusions in coverage? Learn more about them
... >> click here |
