Your Right to Continue Your Health Coverage if You Lose or Change Your Job

Applies to all types of plans.

A major nightmare for people who lose health insurance or change health plans is whether the
new plan will include coverage for pre-existing conditions.

The federal Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA), backed up by New
York State law, provides important protections for people with existing health problems who switch health insurance plans. The federal law applies to all plans, even self-insured plans.

A pre-existing condition is a condition which has been diagnosed or for which you have received treatment in the past six months. These are the only conditions for which an insurance company can impose limits. (If you received treatment earlier than the last six months - but did not
receive any treatment or care during the past six months - the insurance company can not impose any pre-existing condition limits).

- In order to qualify for the protections on pre-existing conditions you must not allow your health insurance coverage to lapse for more than 63 days.

- If you have had continuous coverage for one-year before switching health plans there is no exclusion for preexisting conditions.

- A plan must cover all conditions—including pre-existing conditions—after one year.

- You get a credit towards that year for every month in the previous year that you had continuous coverage. For example, if you work at one job for 11 months and then move to a new employer and the new employer has a 12 month pre-existing condition limit - then the new plan must give you credit for the 11 months.

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