[Letmebclear]

Could you somebody w/ some knowledge of HIPAA provide feedback on this? It's my understanding that the HIPAA law addressed denial of coverage due to preexisting conditions back in 1996 ,though I've never heard a reference to this from the msm and/or democrat party. Does the new bill strengthen the existing law,or is the "preexisting condition" just a democrat talking point?

[Brad from Tennessee]

What is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)?
HIPAA’s is a federal law that:

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Limits the ability of a new employer plan to exclude coverage for preexisting conditions;
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Provides additional opportunities to enroll in a group health plan if you lose other coverage or experience certain life events;
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Prohibits discrimination against employees and their dependent family members based on any health factors they may have, including prior medical conditions, previous claims experience, and genetic information; and
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Guarantees that certain individuals will have access to, and can renew, individual health insurance policies.

HIPAA is complemented by state laws that, while similar to HIPAA, may offer more generous protections. You may want to contact your state insurance commissioner’s office to ask about the law where you live. A good place to start is the Web site of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners at www.naic.org.

One of the most important protections under HIPAA is that it helps those with preexisting conditions get health coverage. In the past, some employers’ group health plans limited, or even denied, coverage if a new employee had such a condition before enrolling in the plan. Under HIPAA, that is not allowed. If the plan generally provides coverage but denies benefits to you because you had a condition before your coverage began, then HIPAA applies. . . (MORE)

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

[mainsail that]

As far as I know it doesn’t apply to private insurance. If you go from business A to B you should be fine but if you lose your job and you had a problem, however small, in the past (5 years in some states) you will probably not get insurance.

[mlocher]

I remember when Clinton signed this into law. It impacted me and a portion of my job as I was recruiting college students for our company. I do not recall all the politics behind the bill, but it seems to me that Clinton did not want to have AIDS patients not get insurance. I think Clinton was appealing to the Gay Community.

Most of what Obama has said about bashing the insurance companies because they would not take people with pre-existing conditions appears to be pure unadulterated BS.

[lovecraft]

In my experience as a health insurance broker, here's how it works. If you have a lapse in coverage longer than 60 days between jobs, that's the only time you can get pre-exed. And only for the treatment of that particular illness for 12 months. After 12 months of paying in, your covered no matter what you have assuming you've lapsed. It's based on the theory that you will get another job within 60 days of a lapse. The key is if coverage has officially lapsed, but you have options to continue coverage either through COBRA or buying an individual policy that falls under HIPPA. Those are peoples options if they have the money to float their premiums between jobs. It's definitely a motivator to stay working.

No pre-ex for Rx's you take that treat the illness and for a few other things like pregnancy.

It applies to group major med plans, so it depends if your employer offers benefits and what policies they have. This is for workers. If you're too old to work, you get medicare. Everybody else, medicaid and other state specific plans. It's very involved depending on individual circumstances, but that's it in a nutshell.

[ArmstedFragg]

I have personal experience with HIPAA. There are loops to be jumped through, and deadlines to be met, so it doesn’t apply to everyone. Essentially, if you’ve had prior group coverage, you elect COBRA coverage and use ALL OF IT, then HIPAA requires any insurer in your state that writes individual policies to issue you a policy without a pre-existing condition exclusion. They can, however, charge you a rate that reflects their increased risk.

It also covers job moves from one company to another. HIPAA gets very little publicity, and I’m constantly surprised at the number of people who end up without insurance because they don’t find out about it. It is, by the way, part of Teddy Kennedy’s legacy.

Some of the Democrat scare stories involve those who had no prior coverage, so HIPAA wouldn’t cover them, but many don’t.

[Jeff Gordon]

I do know that my wife obtained insurance under HIPAA. She has a “pre-existing condition.” HIPAA forced the insurance company to cover her. The down side was that she was rated to the max. She pays over $1000/mo.