9/26/2011 9:09 AM
Charlie,
This may not be a bad thing if your employer is going to continue to fund your premium. Of course this is all going to depend on your particular health profile and those of your dependents. Insurance companies/plans can not exclude preexisting conditions of children 19 years and younger, and generally they can not exclude people who can provide proof of creditable coverage for the prior year.
"HIPAA and Creditable Coverage
In 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a law that provides some protection for you and your family members when you need to buy, change, or continue your health insurance. These protections include:
•Limits on the use of pre-existing condition exclusions.
•Prevents many health plans from discriminating against you by denying you coverage or charging you more for coverage based on your or a family member's health problems.
•Most of the time guarantees that if you lose your job and your coverage, you have the right to purchase health insurance for you and your family.
•Usually guarantees that if you purchase health insurance, you can renew your coverage regardless of any health conditions in your family.
Although HIPAA does not apply in all situations, the law may decrease your chance of losing your existing coverage, make it easier for you to switch health plans, and help you buy coverage if you lose your job-related health plan and have no other coverage available.
An important feature of HIPAA is known as "creditable coverage."
Creditable coverage is health insurance coverage you had before you enrolled in your new health plan, as long as it was not interrupted by a period of 63 or more days. The amount of time you had "creditabl" health insurance coverage can be used to offset a pre-existing condition exclusion period in your new health plan.
The bottom line: If you had at least a full year of health coverage at your previous job and you enrolled in your new health plan without a break of 63 days or more, your new health plan cannot subject you to the pre-existing condition exclusion." (Paisted from About.com)
They can not just turn off your insurance. They will have to offer you COBRA insurance if they had over 20 employees covered by the plan. In some cases it is better to be independent rather than being attached to a small group ( generally any group under 500). The smaller the group the more volitale the premimums can shift due to indidviual large claims. I would begin to shop around now.
This will all change again in 2014.
Sean