HIPPA/Portability

ritamcguire

Situation: One of our employees is getting a divorce. His wife is currently covered on our medical insurance plan. She is a real estate agent and hence an independant contractor. She also happens to have had cancer several years ago. She is currently cancer free. She is concerned that after her 36 months of COBRA coverage elapses she, as an independant contractor, will not be able to get an insurance carrier to cover her due to her history of cancer. I told her that if she always maintained coverage, i.e., no lapses, HIPPA's portabilty provision would reguire an insurance carrier to grant her coverage without considering her previous bout with cancer. She does not get insurance benefits from her real estate company and would be applying for individual coverage as an independant contractor. I also told her that she should compare the cost of COBRA coverage to the cost of her getting an individual policy at this time and take the better option.

Have I given her the proper advise? Note this is a portability question, not a COBRA question.

LindaS

It's the same advice I would have given her.