If you are lucky to work for a firm that offers generous medical insurance benefits, if your employer is not necessary to provide COBRA medical insurance, you are forgiven if you have delayed looking for a more fascinating job or ruled out working for yourself. Fear of parting with employer-sponsored medical insurance is legitimate, given the steady decline in the number of companies that offer it and the high cost of paying for coverage yourself.
According to a 2007 document by the Committee for Economic Development, the U.S. employer-sponsored medical insurance method is failing. Exorbitant premiums have led to waiting periods imposed on new hires and maximum work-hour rules to qualify employees for coverage. Research published by the Economic Policyowner Institute in late 2007 shows that only 59.7 percent of Americans still get their medical insurance through their employers, with the number of firms offering coverage down 4.5 percent since 2000. So, what is a nation of highly mobile, ladder-climbing professionals to do when it is time to clear out their desks?
COBRA
As long as you are not terminated for gross misconduct, you and yours are eligible under COBRA medical insurance for continued coverage for up to 18 additional months. That is excellent news, because it may take that long to discover a comparable job. The bad news is that the continued coverage usually costs much more because your employer is not paying for any part of it. To opt for COBRA benefits you don't must contact somebody. It is up to your former employer to notify the insurance company of your status within 30 days of your departure, after which they have 14 days to offer you continued coverage, which you have 60 days to accept or decline. COBRA benefits are mandatory at companies with 20 or more employees and you don't even must leave your job to qualify for them. A reduction in hours leading to a loss of coverage is also thought about a qualifying event. If COBRA is not an option for you, think about trying to convert the group plan you were in to an individual policyowner.
HIPAA
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was designed with our job-hopping lifestyles in mind. Thanks to HIPAA, in the event you were enrolled in your last employer's medical insurance plan for at least 12 months without a lapse in coverage lasting over 62 consecutive days, your new insurer cannot apply "pre-existing condition" exclusions to you, your partner, or somebody else who was covered under your last plan. Sadly, this rule directly contributes to today's high deductibles and copayments. By prohibiting insurance firms from rejecting those with preexisting conditions, HIPAA causes employers to pass along the higher expense to workers. On the bright side, you don't must worry if your partner and children were covered by your elderly plan, but are not eligible under the new one. HIPAA mandates immediate special enrollment for them through your spouse's employer's plan, assuming there is one.
Other options
In the event you do nothing else, get interim or short-term medical insurance. Not only is it dicy, health-wise and financially, to go without coverage, but the protections conferred by HIPAA die after 63 days without insurance and you don't need that to happen. The protection is worth keeping. In the event you cannot afford an individual medical insurance plan of any period, check together with your state insurance department about subsidized programs.
According to a 2007 document by the Committee for Economic Development, the U.S. employer-sponsored medical insurance method is failing. Exorbitant premiums have led to waiting periods imposed on new hires and maximum work-hour rules to qualify employees for coverage. Research published by the Economic Policyowner Institute in late 2007 shows that only 59.7 percent of Americans still get their medical insurance through their employers, with the number of firms offering coverage down 4.5 percent since 2000. So, what is a nation of highly mobile, ladder-climbing professionals to do when it is time to clear out their desks?
COBRA
As long as you are not terminated for gross misconduct, you and yours are eligible under COBRA medical insurance for continued coverage for up to 18 additional months. That is excellent news, because it may take that long to discover a comparable job. The bad news is that the continued coverage usually costs much more because your employer is not paying for any part of it. To opt for COBRA benefits you don't must contact somebody. It is up to your former employer to notify the insurance company of your status within 30 days of your departure, after which they have 14 days to offer you continued coverage, which you have 60 days to accept or decline. COBRA benefits are mandatory at companies with 20 or more employees and you don't even must leave your job to qualify for them. A reduction in hours leading to a loss of coverage is also thought about a qualifying event. If COBRA is not an option for you, think about trying to convert the group plan you were in to an individual policyowner.
HIPAA
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was designed with our job-hopping lifestyles in mind. Thanks to HIPAA, in the event you were enrolled in your last employer's medical insurance plan for at least 12 months without a lapse in coverage lasting over 62 consecutive days, your new insurer cannot apply "pre-existing condition" exclusions to you, your partner, or somebody else who was covered under your last plan. Sadly, this rule directly contributes to today's high deductibles and copayments. By prohibiting insurance firms from rejecting those with preexisting conditions, HIPAA causes employers to pass along the higher expense to workers. On the bright side, you don't must worry if your partner and children were covered by your elderly plan, but are not eligible under the new one. HIPAA mandates immediate special enrollment for them through your spouse's employer's plan, assuming there is one.
Other options
In the event you do nothing else, get interim or short-term medical insurance. Not only is it dicy, health-wise and financially, to go without coverage, but the protections conferred by HIPAA die after 63 days without insurance and you don't need that to happen. The protection is worth keeping. In the event you cannot afford an individual medical insurance plan of any period, check together with your state insurance department about subsidized programs.
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