HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It allows people to buy individual health insurance when they lose their group health insurance, even if they have a pre-existing health condition.
- You must have had health insurance for the last 18 months.
- Your most recent insurance must have been in an employer-sponsored group health plan.
- You must first use up all your Federal COBRA/Cal-COBRA if you qualify for it.
- You do not have other health insurance, such as a group health insurance, Medi-Cal, or Medicare.
- Finally you did not lose your most recent health insurance because you failed to pay the premiums or because you tried to deceive the health insurance company.
You have 63 days from the date your group health insurance ends or, if you qualify, your Federal COBRA or Cal-COBRA ends, to apply for HIPAA.
For more information on HIPAA visit:
http://www.hmohelp.ca.gov/dmhc_consumer/hp/hp_hipaacp.aspx
