How hard will it be getting insurance when we move out of state?

It goes into effect in 2014, IF you have insurance now. If you have been without insurance for 6 months, then you can get it now. I know someone who had an abdominal tumor and no insurance. It took her about 2 months but she got covered and got it removed. But this was in California where the insurance commissioner has already set up an exchange.

What you may want to do is contact the Insurance commissioner for the state you want to move to and see what your options are.  Some states are so against the Affordable Care Act that they aren't doing anything to prepare for it. 

This link is from the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network:

 http://action.acscan.org/site/DocServer/Affordable_Care_Act_Through_the_Cancer_Lens_Final.pdf?docID=18421

It's just so wrong, imo, that sick people without insurance cannot get the treatment they need.  

Obama's health care plan is far from perfect (single payer would be better, imo) but it's a start.

this is covered by hipaa, pased in 1996. this link will answer most of your questions. 

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_hipaa.html

mccrimmon - what a new insurance company would be looking for is continuity in coverage.  If you have a lapse then you may need to do the state group insurance as Amy mentioned above, good coverage but can be expensive, if you don't COBRA.  If you have coverage through your job it might even be worth splitting residence temporarily, as in DH goes to PA and gets a job with insurance benefits, adds you while you still have coverage in FL, then you follow.  If you get a new job in PA then you can sign up and have no lapse in coverage.  Of course, this only works if you each have separate coverage through your employer. Sometimes you have to game the system.

As long as you don't go more than 63 days without insurance you won't have pre-existing conditions. It is the present HIPPA law. You may have to do the Cobra to be sure have continous coverage.  You will need to get certification from your current insurance company to prove you had coverage.  They used to send them automatically but you have to ask for them now.  Hope this helps. NJ

I'm an HR manager and help people with this a lot. If you have continuous coverage (no lapse) you cannot be denied for pre-existing. The trick is to keep coverage (even COBRA counts as coverage b/c COBRA is the same insurance plan you were on - just paid for by you instead of an employer. The trick is to keep coverage (in IL this means no more than a 30 day lapse - other states are longer).



Good luck!

I have great insurance under my husband's policy. I would be terrified to move without an iron-clad guarantee, in the employment contract, that my coverage would be guaranteed. Insurance coverage, due to my cancer diagnosis, is a big reason why we will probably not move.

mccrimmon: "I remember he said, don't go on COBRA, or you'll never get off but can't remember why."

This is ABSOLUTELY FALSE. For one thing, there's a limit on how long you can be on Cobra. Remember, the person you talked to is an oncologist, not an insurance specialist! Obviously he knows nothing about insurance since he gave you info that's 100% false! 

LvRVing is completely correct when she says "if you have health insurance through an employer (your DH's or your own) you should not have a problem getting insurance. If you are leaving your jobs, be sure to get COBRA so that you are not without insurance. It's when you've had a lapse in coverage that it gets most difficult." You MUST be sure you have continuous coverage. If you have a lapse of more than 62 days you can be denied based on a pre-existing condition.

But IF YOU'VE HAD CONTINUOUS INSURANCE COVERAGE WITH NO LAPSE OF MORE THAN 62 DAYS YOU CANNOT BE DENIED INSURANCE DUE TO A PRE-EXISTING CONDITION.

That's the truth, period. Now, if you have a pre-existing condition, the new insurance company doesn't have to cover any payments FOR TREATMENTS RELATED TO THAT CONDITION for up to 18 months. But they can't deny you coverage.

This has nothing to do with Health Insurance reform (aka ObamaCare) -- it's been this way for many years. It's part of the HIPAA law that went into effect in 1996.

Read this: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_hipaa.html 

Health insurance STINKS! We are self employed, therefore have to pay for our own insurance. By the time we pay our premiums and out of pocket, cost for us this year (2012) just $36,000.00.

 In 2011 it cost us $30,000.00.

Had one company, with the nerve, to call us with a new quote, would cost us $10,000.00 a month! Really? Why would you even offer that?

"A private insurance company can deny an individual policy at any time for any reason, lapse or no lapse."

Fearless, I absolutely, really, truly, hate to disagree with you on this but I must go to the mat in this case because I know for an undeniable fact that it's not true. However, you and I may be talking about different things.

A private insurance company can refuse to give you a regular policy for any reason such as a pre-existing condition. But in the USA they cannot refuse you a HIPAA policy if you've had no lapse. That's the law. (You may be talking about regular policies while I'm talking about getting any insurance coverage at all.)

It happened to me. Several years ago DH and I retired prior to being eligible for Medicare and we had to get our own (private) health insurance for the family. We went on COBRA immediately while we applied for insurance. Two of us were determined to have pre-existing conditions and we were denied regular policies but were offered HIPAA policies. I still have mine to this very day (Anthem Blue Cross). It's not cheap but it beats losing your house due to medical expenses. 

The terms of my HIPAA policy are not different, in any significant way, from those of the rest of the family's policies. I go to the same doctors, get approved for the same types of procedures, etc. 

mccrimmon: "Maybe I'm misunderstanding but if going to a follow-up appt starts the clock again, you'll never get coverage." Yes, you're misunderstanding. The clock doesn't start up again. You just don't have coverage for that condition for X number of months. 

So let's say you finish BC treatment on Jan 31 and get new ins. coverage on Feb 1 but it excludes BC treatment for 12 months. On August 1 you get your followup mammo and the doc wants to do a biopsy. The insurance probably won't pay for that, nor any other BC treatments you get until the following Feb 1, but on Feb 1 they should start paying for it again. 

Peggy, yes, your new insurer can refuse to pay for a pre-existing condition for some defined period of time. And they can charge you a higher rate for insurance. But you can't be denied insurance all together and you can't be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition forever -- only for the defined period (generally 12 to 18 months).

Insurers are really tough on people applying for individual policies. If you've ever had anything more than a simple cold it's likely you'll be what I think they call "up rated." One of my family members was put on a HIPAA policy because of having had treatment for acne! Nothing else! My HIPAA classification was due to a history of migraines. Another family member was up-rated (but not given a HIPAA policy) due to having had an ear infection in childhood.

The insurance companies advertise teaser rates but hardly anyone qualifies for them -- the insurer will almost certainly find some reason to up-rate you or put you on a HIPAA policy, both of which are more expensive than the teaser rates they advertise.

Even though I had to purchase a HIPAA plan in order to get insurance, due to what they considered pre-existing conditions, I didn't have an exclusion period. My insurance provided benefits for everything immediately.

I went on a HIPAA plan in about 2001 or 2002, when it was relatively new, though, and the exclusion period may not have been in the law at that time. 

So I read the HIPPA information and all except the very end talks about group coverage. At the very end is a short, vague reference to individual coverage. I applied for individual coverage a couple of years ago before my BC diagnosis, had no pre-existing conditions and still had to complete a very lengthy questionnare. The agent told me that I can be denied for a variety of reasons. If HIPPA protects people with pre-existing conditions, why the questionnares?

Char, I would assume we are considered to be undergoing treatment. I'm hoping that Obama's health plan, flawed as it is, will help people with pre-existing conditions to continue insurance no matter where we move. Also, hopefully, it will make sure the uninsured or underinsured are protected against financial devastation due to diseases totally beyond their control. The current system is just so blatantly unfair. 

Char: it's not a question of HIPAA versus individual, it's regular-priced individual policy versus HIPAA individual policy. Once one has the policy, the only difference (as far as I can tell) is the monthly payment.

I applied for individual coverage a couple of years ago before my BC diagnosis, had no pre-existing conditions and still had to complete a very lengthy questionnare. The agent told me that I can be denied for a variety of reasons. If HIPPA protects people with pre-existing conditions, why the questionnares? 

But you didn't have continuous coverage, right? If you were coming off a group plan or COBRA you could not be denied. But if you don't have coverage, you can be denied.

HIPAA stands for "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act," and part of its purpose was to allow people to change jobs and retain medical insurance coverage. That's the "portability" part. You can also "port" your group coverage to an individual policy. But if you don't currently have any plan there's nothing to "port" from so HIPAA doesn't apply.

So one reason for the questionnaire is to allow the company to decide whether to accept someone who doesn't qualify under the portability rules. Another reason for questionnaires is to allow the company to decide how much to up-rate you or, if HIPAA applies, whether to charge you HIPAA rates.

Sorry for asking all these questions but for those of us that are on AIs - are we considered to be undergoing treatment until we stop taking them?

That I don't know, but I'd guess that the answer is yes. Only a guess, mind you.

Robo, love the idea of finding a fat smelly husband who has group coverage! But if you should become engaged you can never announce it here for fear we'll rat you out to your "beloved!"