Health Insurance Articles
Why You Should Keep Your Health Insurance Coverage Between Jobs
2010-04-23
Health insurance is the most talked about subject these days. Many people who are unemployed may not be able to get affordable health insurance. Health insurance costs have gone up in recent years and many choose to be uninsured because they cannot afford the health insurance costs. If you are considering changing jobs, you should check with your employer about keeping your current healthcare plan. There are many good reasons to do this. Health insurance coverage takes time to complete once you have been accepted at the new company. Anything that involves paperwork takes time to process and you may find yourself temporarily without coverage. If you seek medical treatment, your coverage cannot be verified until everything clears.
When you start a new job, most companies require you to be employed with them for 90 days before becoming eligible for health insurance coverage. This waiting period can affect your ability to receive treatment for any health conditions you may have. If you are being treated for a medical problem and take medication, you may not be able to refill your prescription or keep your appointments without coverage. If you do go without coverage for the 90 day period, then you will be paying for everything out-of-pocket. If a medical emergency arises during this time, then you will be responsible for 100 percent of the costs. It is unfortunate when this happens, but this does happen occasionally. Murphy's Law of "whatever can go wrong will" may go into effect.
Due to the high costs of healthcare, many insurance companies will not cover pre-existing conditions. Pregnancy and any other short-term conditions may not be covered by the new plan or you may have a waiting period for those conditions to be covered. It is not unheard of to be required to wait six to nine months for pre-existing conditions to be covered. If you were covered by your employer's health plan with no gaps in coverage, the waiting period may be reduced.
If your present company offers COBRA, this is a guarantee that you will keep your health coverage for up to 18 months. This is an expensive option because you will have to pay the full amount to continue the coverage. High health insurance costs keep many people from getting coverage. Getting short-term health insurance or switching to an individual plan from a group plan to save money may be risky. If you have already given your notice, it is a good idea to go to your human resources director and talk about your options for continuing coverage. Keeping the insurance you have is the best option until the new employer's health plan kicks in.
