Yahoo - Bleak Outlook

[Whisper9999]

HIPAA guaranteed my ability to go from a group insurance plan of my employer to an individual plan, with no waiting period, no pre-existing conditions exclusions, and no underwriting.

The downside is that HIPAA plans can be prohibitively expensive and the coverage is often not as good as the group plan that you left. So you have to decide where you want to live and what insurance offerings are available to you in that area. For example, California has a risk pool as a HIPAA option, but it is expensive and only provides $75,000 of coverage per year.

Minnesota (our home state) was our best bet for insurance for two people who are otherwise uninsurable. Their HIPAA option is a risk pool but it is probably the best risk pool in the nation.

So I take it HIPAA mean federal guidelines that each state interprets in their own way and make their own HIPAA plans?? I guess I'm not understanding why all HIPAA plans aren't alike if it's a federal thing?

 

[Martha]

So I take it HIPAA mean federal guidelines that each state interprets in their own way and make their own HIPAA plans?? I guess I'm not understanding why all HIPAA plans aren't alike if it's a federal thing?

HIPAA, the federal law, requires each state to have one or more plans in place for people who are leaving group insurance coverage after 18 months of prior coverage. States do have a fair amount of flexibility in what they offer. The feds also do not limit cost.

 

[ziggy29]

HIPAA, the federal law, requires each state to have one or more plans in place for people who are leaving group insurance coverage after 18 months of prior coverage. States do have a fair amount of flexibility in what they offer. The feds also do not limit cost.

And with no limits on what insurers can charge, there is really no teeth in the HIPAA requirement for disallowing preexisting condition exclusions.

I mean, if someone has a history of cancer, maybe HIPAA says insurers MUST offer insurance with no exclusions for cancer treatment... but if they choose to charge $5,000 a month, no one will buy it -- so they might as well not even have the law in place at all...