Keeping Health Insurance in New State
It will probably make more sense for you to accept the coverage through your employer because it will be considerably less expensive than your current Blue Cross HIPAA plan. When you leave that job, you will go on COBRA, and once that expires back on to a HIPAA plan. So, you have nothing to lose. As far as putting your husband on the group plan, it will depend on the portion paid by your employer. If they pay 100% of dependent premium, he can go on that and keep his individual plan as a safety net. If he goes on the group plan, and cancels his Blue Shield coverage, he will also qualify for COBRA once you leave that job. But, once that expires, he will be forced onto a HIPAA plan and the premiums will probably be much higher than he is paying now under his standard issue individual health plan. Applying for individual health insurance in Washington may prove just as difficult as California. The insurance companies must use a point system to determine if you are eligible for coverage. Each medical question or condition is assigned a specific number of points, as are other factors like weight and smoking. If you go over the point limit, they will decline you for coverage. The underwriting method is different, but who is insurable and not insurable is very similar to California. 1 CommentLeave a comment |
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I am on a HIPAA plan with Blue Cross of California. My husband is on an individual health plan with Blue Shield. I am starting a new job and they offer group coverage through Aetna. This is a nationwide company with employees in all states. We are considering a move to Washington later this year; will we be able to take both of these plans with us when we move? Or, would we be better off going on to my group plan now. My husband has a pre-existing medical condition and we were told to never give up his individual health plan. I will probably only work for this company for 7 or 8 months until we move to Washington..
The first thing you need to do is check with both Blue Cross and Blue Shield to see if either of your plans are portable to Washington. Blue Cross in Washington is Premera Blue Cross and Blue Shield is Regence Blue Shield. They are separate companies in Washington, just like they are in California. The insurance regulations in this state are very different than California, so you will need to switch to these new companies. The plans that they offer, if available, to replace your current California plans, my be very limited and costly. It would make sense to investigate now and understand your options before planning the relocation.
I was denied health insurance with the insurance group Kaiser permanente when I left my job last June and now I have no health insurance at all! They chose to deny me on the grounds of a certain preexisting condition, but later on I got a letter in the mail that said that if I could come up with $500 and a new HIPAA certificate, then I could enroll. The HIPAA certificate was to show 18 months of continuous coverage. The problem here isn’t the money even if steep, it is the certificate. If I have been uninsured between June and October last year, then I can not get the certificate right? Then what on earth can I do to get full health insurance. I have looked at some of the short term options but I need full coverage and how will a short term plan affect my HIPAA status?
Comment by John — June 23, 2009 @ 11:00 am