There are states which require insurance companies to accept people with pre-existing conditions and do not require a waiting period. This varies by state, however.
Dear snownow,
You are correct in that "you can't get denied group health insurance due to a pre existing condition" & you would not have to deal with waiting period on pre-ex conditions, as long as you have had continuous coverage.
But if you have a break in coverage of over 62 days, your new group coverage can impose a waiting period on your pre-ex conditions. To see an example of such a case, see the posting by jmark, on May 06, 2008 11:39PM, on this forum.
Sincerely,
Amir Mostafaie