[MD Expat in PA]

Under HIPAA, a new employer’s plan must give individuals credit for the length of time they had prior continuous health coverage, without a break in coverage of 63 days or more, thereby reducing or eliminating the 12-month exclusion period (18 months for late enrollees).

Actually you can have a gap in coverage under HIPAA but it can't be for more than 63 days.

[sitetest]

Dear MD Expat in PA,

You're right. I elided that in my answer as I'm prone to providing more detail than most folks really want to know.

The idea of HIPAA is, “You play by the rules (keep pretty much continuous coverage), you don't get screwed.”

sitetest