Private Health Insurance - If I move to new State

[Hiredgun]

will I need to obtain a new policy. A friend mentioned the other day that the only problem with a private health insurance policy is that if you leave the state you live in, you will need to secure a new policy from that different state and pre-existing conditions will not be covered.

I currently live in AZ and may move to a different state when my son goes to college. I have a chronic back condition so I would not want to have to re-qualify for a new policy. Can anyone offer advice or clarity on this issue? Thanks!

[pb4uski]

I think it depends on the state you are moving to. Some states do not penalize one for preexisting conditions, but their insurance rates are very expensive as a result.

[MooreBonds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hiredgun will I need to obtain a new policy. A friend mentioned the other day that the only problem with a private health insurance policy is that if you leave the state you live in, you will need to secure a new policy from that different state and pre-existing conditions will not be covered. I currently live in AZ and may move to a different state when my son goes to college. I have a chronic back condition so I would not want to have to re-qualify for a new policy. Can anyone offer advice or clarity on this issue? Thanks!

I would add that one other thing to consider is looking at what companies underwrite in both your current state and proposed future state. Some insurance companies may offer policies in both states - if I were you, and you were almost definitely certain you were moving to the other state, try getting a quote from the company offering policies in both states.

ehealthinsurance.com quotes several underwriters. Assuranthealth.com is another company that may underwrite in both states, but which isn't listed in the ehealthinsurance.com database. You can get instant, no obligation quotes from both sites as a rough guide starting point, then try an insurance agent who may be able to do better.

The quotes from the websites will be assuming you qualify for the top-rated health category, so keep that in mind...but it will let you see which companies are active in both states, so you can start with calling those for a more exact quote in your current state, and tell them that you may be moving to the other state, and see how that would impact your premium.

Also, are you certain that you will be living in the other state long-term, or just while your son is in college? If you don't have excessively high medical costs, it might be worth it to maintain your coverage as an AZ resident and rent an apartment in the other state, and then just roll the dice and hope you don't have excessive medical issues requiring out-of-network visits (or just go back to AZ to visit your healthcare providers in-network).

Every state varies in what insurance underwriters have to offer in their policies. I believe AZ may be below the nationwide average in health insurance policy premiums, so it might make fiscal sense to keep a policy as an AZ resident.