Re: NCC: Confused About Cobra - HIPA

[Guest guest]

Suzanne:

Health Insurance Portability Act (HIPA)...protects the rights of

Insured patients when there is a job change or relocation. As long as

you have current/active Insurance or Cobra. (***NEVER miss a payment

over 30 days-because they can use this against you and can drop the

coverage)

This also means that new insurance cannot rule any previously treated

condition as pre-existing, since legally you are " just " switching

carriers and not having to pre-qualify for the insurance.

The company your husband works for at time of release, upon request

MUST provide a Certificate of Insurability - this lists the insured

person and all their dependents.

I fought 1 1/2 yrs...for Kari to be covered as my disabled dependent

(a 5 min. conversation w/a lawyer told me about HIPA)As soon as I

mentioned HIPA and provided the letter from my old company....I

recieved confirmation of Kari's coverage retroactive to my original

date of insurance. They had to go back and pay 1 1/2 yrs of bills!

By age 20 & covered by my old policy as fulltime student, she became

disabled & had to drop out.....(took 1 yr to pass the last 2 classes-

she would start then forced to drop due to illness)

About this time, I got a new job and the new insurance tried to tell

me that since she finally graduated, she was now on her own, it took

my visitng a lawyer to convince them that as my disabled dependent

and the HIPA...they must cover her. Every 6 mths they review this

ruling and we must again prove her disability...but it is definitely

worth the fight!

Hope this helps someone else out there...you have more rights than

they ever tell you--I am a whole lot smarter now...LOL!!!

Dori mom of

23 y/o Kari

my daughter and

disabled dependent!