Hassle-Free Health Coverage: Pre-Existing Conditions

If you or a family member covered under your policy has a pre-existing condition you won't have to worry about whether or not your coverage will transfer when you change jobs thanks to a recent change in federal law. As of July 1997, insurance companies can impose only one 12-month waiting period for any pre-existing condition treated or diagnosed in the previous six months. As long as you have maintained coverage without a break for more than 62 days, your prior health insurance coverage will be credited toward the pre-existing condition exclusion period. Pregnancy won't apply here, but the 12-month waiting period is waived for any newborns or adopted children who are covered within 30 days.

If you've had group coverage for two years, switch jobs and move to another plan, the new health plan can't impose another pre-existing condition exclusion period.

Federal law also makes it easier for you to get individual insurance under certain situations. If you aren't covered under a group plan and can't get insurance on your own, check with your state insurance department to see if it has a risk pool. Like risk pools for automobile insurance, these can provide health insurance if you can't get it elsewhere. But they can get expensive.