Health Insurance Articles
How Moving Can Affect Your Health Insurance Coverage
2010-02-08
A thorough health insurance policy can help to make a serious health situation less stressful by providing both monetary and emotional assistance - be it in the form of an HMO, PPO or POS plan. But what happens to that coverage if the client moves to a new state, or has a job that requires relocation? Will the same level of benefits and services still be offered?
The truth is, it depends on a number of factors. Any of the health insurance plans mentioned above will have a network of providers they would like to see used by their clients. In the case of a PPO system, if the client moves to an area where none of the preferred providers are available, a greater portion of the cost is going to fall on their shoulders, although the PPO will likely still pay a portion of it. In an HMO situation, if the provider is located outside the scope of their network, the entire cost of the visit or treatment will rest with the patient. In some cases, a visit to a specialist may not even be possible, as they will only take referrals from within their own HMO.
If moving away, it is worth contacting the health insurance coverage provider, be it through work or self-purchased. Ask if it is possible to switch primary care physicians and what type of network the plan has in the new location. Be aware that some insurance will not transfer out-of-state, so even a PPO or POS will not cover any portion of a doctor's visit if that insurance company does not operate in another state. Of benefit in cases such as this is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, which was introduced in 1996. It states that any employer which provides a group health insurance plan and has at least two employees must provide an employee a "Certificate of Coverage" if they leave their job for a new one. This certificate is used to show the amount of time the employee had in their old health care plan, which allows certain waiting periods for full benefits on a new employer health care plan to be waved. This way, if an employee has been under a health coverage plan for 18 months and then changes jobs or moves to new state, they do not need to start at square one. HIPAA does not apply if the employee is going from a group plan to an individual one, however.
Although moving can be stressful and health insurance can be complicated to maintain, with the help of acts such as HIPAA and a little research before moving, coverage can be almost uninterrupted.
