Insurance and a new job

I'm not an expert, but logic tells me your husband will need to keep his insurance as long as you are still receiving treatments for cancer.  But yes, do call your "new" insurance and have a talk with them about what they DO cover in the way of OTHER health issues, like can you still get copays to visit a doc for yearly checkups, will you still be fully covered after deductible if you wind up in the hospital from a car wreck, whatever questions concern you.  It could be if they just won't touch cancer treatments, and you have been released as no longer having cancer in your body, then you have to weigh the possibility of recurrence against your husband quitting his job and moving and losing his insurance.  I'm not a gambling person, so being so close to whenever your treatment ended would make me want to revise life plans for the next year or so, putting off husband quitting work. 

Aimee,

The letter you get is always difficult to understand.  But unless you have a laspe in coverage you don't have to worry about pre-existing condition.  As long as you don't have a laspe of more than 63 days you should be fine.  If you scroll down in the link to the above document to the third section you will see the reference I am referring to. This is current law, I don't know how things will change in 2014.  Hope this helps. NJ  

I believe HIPAA is a federal rule or law so it should be effective nationwide.

mrsnjband: You posted that as long as the lapse in coverage is less than 63 days, we would be considered to have continuous coverage. This is great news for me since my DH just started a new job and we will have a 2 month lapse in coverage unless we opt for Cobra. In New York, Cobra costs are around $1000/mo. for just the 2 of us, an amount we cannot afford.

Where did you find out this information? I would just like to confirm this before I make any decisions. Thanks for the info!

One love, Jackie

Um, Jackie

I hate to tell you this - but beg, borrow, or steal the money you need for that COBRA.

Otherwise, you will have no insurance coverage until the 2014, when the new Health Care kicks in.

Honest.

Sue

I agree with Sue, and that's assuming "they" don't kill the 2014 plan by then.   Keep in mind, too, that we can still be fired if we get sick again.   They won't use that as the reason, of course, but you can still get canned. 

My friend started a new job and his wife got sick.  As soon as they got wind, he lost his job.  He eventually mortgaged his house to pay for her treatment. 

There is always more security with a larger (i.e. more than 50 employees) company.   It's still not a guarantee, but more secure.  

Dreaming is right!  Trust me on this, I've seen it so many times - people fired when they (or their spouse) gets a cancer diagnosis - of course, the employers won't give that as the reason, they aren't stupid.

When interviewing for a job you do not have to disclose any condition, unless it is relevant to your ability to perform the job. In addtion, it is ILLEGAL for any prospective employer to ask any questions about any medical conditions that are not relevant to job performance.

That being said, does your husband have any sort of prosthetic he can use to disguise his unbalanced shape? It seems to me it might be good to have something for certain situations, just to keep from having to deal with looks or questions. Maybe just some stuffing sew into an old undershirt, something like that.

Chest shape isn't as important to men as it is to women, but men have their pride as well.