Insurance Question

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simmonsg
simmonsg Member Posts: 33
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Okay wise board members- I have a question that I hope you guys have advise/information on. I have a job offer at another company. One of my major concerns about changing companies is insurance. I have completed all my treatments (chemo and radiation)but can an insurance company deny me coverage because of a pre-existing disease? Does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks.

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  • jake10
    jake10 Member Posts: 202
    #2
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    The answer is no. If you are currently insured and move to another company, your former company will give you a form called "Proof of Insurance Coverage". Give this form to your new employer and you will have no pre-existing conditions. The "Health Insurance Portability Act" also known as HIPAA, gives you this freedom. The main purpose of this law was allow people just like you to change jobs. The rest of the stuff, like the form you sign at the pharmacy, doctor, dentist, hospital ect....were added to that law to protect your personal health information from disclosure to unotherized people.
    Hope this helps. Beth
  • cammie
    cammie Member Posts: 102
    #3
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    You can easily change jobs and insurance carry over to the new job. But as we all know there is a catch 22 to that HIPPA law. You can not be without coverage for even a day. In other words, when you leave your current job insurance ends at the end of the month. If your new job start insurance right away your ok. But if your new insurance doesn't start for 3 months after employment, then you need to take COBRA from your old insurance for 3 months till your new one starts. COBRA is very expensive, but you need to take it to have your new insurance cover your cancer. Otherwise they don't have to cover your pre-existing condition for a year after you have taken on the new insurance. Good luck. Cammie
  • simmonsg
    simmonsg Member Posts: 33
    #4
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    jake10 said:

    The answer is no. If you are currently insured and move to another company, your former company will give you a form called "Proof of Insurance Coverage". Give this form to your new employer and you will have no pre-existing conditions. The "Health Insurance Portability Act" also known as HIPAA, gives you this freedom. The main purpose of this law was allow people just like you to change jobs. The rest of the stuff, like the form you sign at the pharmacy, doctor, dentist, hospital ect....were added to that law to protect your personal health information from disclosure to unotherized people.
    Hope this helps. Beth

    Thanks so much - this is very helpful
  • jake10
    jake10 Member Posts: 202
    #5
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    cammie said:

    You can easily change jobs and insurance carry over to the new job. But as we all know there is a catch 22 to that HIPPA law. You can not be without coverage for even a day. In other words, when you leave your current job insurance ends at the end of the month. If your new job start insurance right away your ok. But if your new insurance doesn't start for 3 months after employment, then you need to take COBRA from your old insurance for 3 months till your new one starts. COBRA is very expensive, but you need to take it to have your new insurance cover your cancer. Otherwise they don't have to cover your pre-existing condition for a year after you have taken on the new insurance. Good luck. Cammie

    It has been my experience that that is not the case. As long as you were insured with your former employer and get on the new employers insurance as soon as it is offered, there is no break in insurance and no preexisting conditions. COBRA is very, very expensive and most employers have a 90 day waiting period until insurance is offered. The changes in the law would be meaningliess if they did not cover. I have changed jobs and provided the form to the new employer and got on the new insurance as soon as it was offered and suffered in no way with pre-existing conditions. Beth

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