| Have you recently lost your job and are worried about | | | | officially elect to continue coverage through the |
| your medical coverage? Or perhaps you are thinking | | | | COBRA program, you have 45 days to pay |
| of quitting your job but fear your new employer's | | | | retroactive premiums. Once you have paid any |
| health insurance provider will reject you for coverage | | | | back-due fees, your policy will resume and remain |
| due to a preexisting medical condition? Whether you | | | | active until any of the following occurs: you voluntarily |
| lose your job or you choose to find new employment | | | | terminate it, premiums are not paid within 30 days of |
| elsewhere, the government has two programs that | | | | the due date, a covered person becomes eligible under |
| can help: COBRA and HIPPAA. These programs | | | | another policy or by Medicare, the employer |
| protect your coverage in the event you need to | | | | discontinues offering group coverage to all of its |
| switch employers. | | | | employees, the COBRA continuation period has |
| COBRA stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget | | | | reached its maximum. |
| Reduction Act of 1985. It allows for employees to | | | | HIPPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and |
| extend their health coverage whenever their | | | | Accountability act of 1996. It allows for individuals to |
| employer's provided policy ends for any of the | | | | switch companies and be accepted under the new |
| following reasons: your employer terminates your | | | | employer's program regardless of preexisting medical |
| position, as a covered spouse your coverage gets | | | | conditions. Imagine having an expensive medical |
| terminated due to a divorce or legal separation, you | | | | condition that is currently covered under your present |
| become disabled, your company reduces the amount | | | | employer. Now imagine you need to relocate or |
| of hours you can work and the result is you are no | | | | perhaps get offered a more lucrative form of |
| longer eligible for coverage due to not working the | | | | employment at another company. In this situation, |
| minimal amount of hours required to acquire/maintain | | | | HIPPAA protects you from being handcuffed to your |
| insurance, the insurance-providing employee dies and | | | | current job for health insurance purposes; the new |
| leaves the spouse and/or children without medical | | | | employer's provider must accept you. |
| coverage. In most states, this form of extended | | | | A few of the areas where an individual is protected |
| coverage is limited to companies with 20 or more | | | | under HIPPAA are as follows: pregnancy and prenatal |
| employees. However, a few states have reduced the | | | | health problems cannot be considered preexisting |
| minimum amount of employees to 2. Check with your | | | | conditions, acknowledging credit for any prior insurance |
| insurance expert to determine what the current | | | | policy coverage during the previous 12 months (limits |
| minimums are for your state. | | | | the preexisting time frame), limiting the length of time a |
| From the day you leave your job (or your position is | | | | preexisting condition can apply to 12 months, requires |
| otherwise terminated under the above listed | | | | that providers cannot decline health coverage to new |
| conditions), you have 60 days to elect to continue your | | | | employees based on health insurance reasons only. |
| coverage as outlined under COBRA. Once you | | | | |