same question

well you can see my brain has still not kicked in today, sorry about duplicate post  but still...

hello everybody, hope most are beginning to feel better from their wild weakend.

i will be changing jobs in very near future (hopefully w/i 2 months), i know that eventually will be done with treatment and differently insured.

does anyone have experience with insurance from change of job? i don't have any idea of whether it ever comes up, in question, with the insurance company forms regarding preexisting conditions.

if not on insurance forms,

certainly first time we visit doctor, and fill out their forms for chart... what does one put? (ex. HCV, treated 11/06-, cleared...)

or do we not have to say anything (that sounds dumb to even ask of course we should).

will this be considered a preexisting condition excluded from their costs for some period of time? what about related problems of thyroid, etc.. would that be considered preexisting?

any discussion of what others have experienced or think about on above will be appreciated.

rose

[rosebud57]

boy i really screwed this up... hope to get some dialog here.

[Myown]

Great question. I will be curious to see what the answer is. I know Dr. D calls svr a cure. I will ask if I can get a letter at some point of post svr(hopefully svr) stating that I have been cured and then I probably wouldn't mention it. If something came up where someone said I was not being upfront about pre existing condition, I would have the letter to fall back on.  This is just a thought I have, but I would have to speak to the doctor and an attorney I would think.

Hopefully someone has a real answer for you. My answer is just guess work.

Maybe our in house attorney the one and only Mikesimon, our buddy, can give some insight.

[pigeonca]

In some states there are "portability" laws whereby a person who changes jobs and therefore changes insurance policies must be given "continuity of coverage."  We have something like that here in California.  As long as we're insured, including via COBRA, we can change jobs and policies without pre-existing conditions.  I recall the anagram HIPPA as the name of the program, but I'm not sure of that.

[rosebud57]

i am also from ca.  hippa i don't know if for this state only, is the health information private protection clause.  they can't give protected information unless specified by the patient, ie; exchange info with other doctors, or anyone with your signed release like when you want a 2nd opinion or transf. your files.  we all sign papers every year or when new doctor at least, were they state who they share your information with. i.e. billing, labs, etc.

your right i could keep the insurance i have through COBRA. i could probably just about afford it if i abandon my children, animals, personal property  and live in my car. its not that bad, kids are old enough to fend for themselves.

yes i would like to hear from mikesimmon resident attorney. or anyone regarding what to expect with insurance and change of job..

[rosebud57]

i did ask my RN (the new one, original went on med leave), about mentioning she said no ones business.  well during an interview or even for hire it wouldn't legally for them to ask, why on earth would i want to tell.  

so i guess it really more specifically applies to the insurance part of it. not just health, what if they offer life insurance? been a while since i had a job that offered that, but likely to be the situation with the next one as i will be fully employed.  i have worked last 4 yrs in job with p/t designation(39.5), don't have insurance with it. (even so somehow still managed to work a lot of overtime sometimes 50+)

[GrandmaA]

I have changed jobs several times over many years and no one ever asked me about a preexisting condition when I was joining a group policy at work. Of course, it's only lately that I have had this much medical done. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Put your imagination into creative endeavors.

[dperry10]

I was Dx with Hep C 14 years ago.    I have never had  a problem with a prospective employer ever asking in an interview if I had health conditions that they should be aware of.   Its not till you fill out insurance info that you may be asked about any Health issues you have ever had.     I have always been honest About the conditition and have never been denied coverage.    

Not until I tried to up my Life insurance did they request testing to be done to determine if it was cured or not.     So now I guess once treatment is over and if still UND and reach SVR, that I can apply for that increase without a denial or Higher insurance premium.  But should not be an issue.

In fact , due to the Hippa laws, my current employer , does not want to know about your health issues.  I think they got that wrong, as they need to know, and I make sure they know, just in case something ever happens while at work.

Good luck, and hopefully MikeSimon can give you some insight on this.

[rosebud57]

FL:
that was gem of info thanks for correcting about the "hippa" stuff (that held real good) and insurance.  it really is reassuring to me to know what to expect. i don't want surprises.

Mike:
thanks for your insights

and any others who posted thanks for your contribution as well
rose

[mikesimon]

I just changed group insurance for my company and the forms didn't ask about pre-existing conditions but that may be because we moved from pool to pool within the same company. I don't know what we would have been asked to provide had we changed insurance companies but when we hire a new employee they are not asked about any pre-existing conditions before joining our group. I know that if you try and get a life insurance policy that question will likely come up and, depending on your age and the amount of insurance you're trying to get, you may be asked to get labs drawn by the insurance company's designated lab. Mike

[dperry10]

Thank you for replying.   I kinda thought that was the issue with changing insurance within the company.. Our company has done that too over the years, and never had the question or issue of preexisting conditions.  

As far as the life insurance policy, I will make sure to make a note that it has to be 2 years SVR.    But yes they wanted me to have blood drawn to determine health issues.   Which makes no sense now that I think about it, as I already have life insurance with them, I just wanted to double the amount of coverage , when our time came to update Insurance benefits for the year, and basically is when I found out all the health issues. But I guess they have to make sure I am not dying already.. LOL   So won't be getting that increase this year or next year.. LOL  

[FL_Gal]

I recently changed jobs, my new insurance will be starting 5/1, and I just filled out the paperwork for it today.

There were no questions asked about pre-existing conditions.  I think this is because it's a group plan.  Even the life insurance was guaranteed-issue with no questions up to a certain dollar amount, and then if I wanted more there would be a medical exam. (I just took what was offered, LOL)

So, that's how it went for me, hopefully it will be the same for you.

ps...HIPAA has one p, two a's, and stands for The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. One of it's provisions is that it protects your right to buy health insurance coverage when you change or lose your job, so long as you do not have more than a 63 day break in coverage.  So really, since you haven't had insurance, HIPAA won't come into play, but I still think you won't have a problem.

If you are offered a choice of more than one plan, read carefully to see if any of them requires a "certificate of creditable coverage".  Choose the one that doesn't ask for that.  ;)

[nygirl7]

said Not until I tried to up my Life insurance did they request testing to be done to determine if it was cured or not. So now I guess once treatment is over and if still UND and reach SVR, that I can apply for that increase without a denial or Higher insurance premium. But should not be an issue.





I think it's two years SVR....I know some of the older guys know like Cuteus but I haven't seen her in too long.  Darn now I'm thinking of her and wishing she would post and just say a quick "all okay" sign to us.

I KNOW she knows.

[ladybug52]

As long as you sign up within the first 30 days you shouldn't have any problems. Or at least I haven't had a problem and I've switched ins 4 times since starting tx. Had hubby's, got my own, got my own new ins in Jan, lost my own new ins in Jan, switched to hubby's ins. No questions asked and each provider paid for the meds. Hope you are as lucky and follow your nurse's advice about not giving info out that's not needed.
Bug

[rosebud57]

thank you for sharing, i'm sure that piece of info will be useful to someone else as well (about switching and recieving tx meds....), i know not to spill beans about the other. (smile)

[ladybug52]

:) back at ya!

[rosebud57]

okay, i was finally ready to apply for that job.

thanks a lot for all your encouragement. i did and the website said i should hear from recruiter in several weeks. we shall see then how that goes...

thanks for all your support
rose