Should I cancel my individual
coverage if offered Group benefits?
In
today's
labor
market,
it is
much
more
common
for
people
to move
in and
out of
the
labor
market.
Whether
it is a
stint at
self-employment,
a change
to a new
job, or
perhaps
going
with a
company
on a
1099
basis,
the
impact
on
health
insurance
both
coming
off and
going
back on
group
coverage
should
be
considered.
Coming
off of
Group
coverage
offers
some
options.
First,
you will
typically
have a
Cobra
option
in
California
which
allows
you to
continue
your
group
plan for
a
minimum
of 18
months
and in
some
cases,
36
months
through
a
Cal-Cobra
extension.
After
exhausting
Cobra,
you may
also
have a
HIPAA
guaranteed
issue
option.
These
are back
up
options
ideally.
If you
are
healthy,
you can
also
investigate
the
Individual
Family
health
insurance
market
in
California.
Individual
family
insurance
is
medically
underwritten
which
means
you need
to
qualify
based on
health.
You can
cancel
month to
month
with
individual
health
insurance.
Individual
family
coverage
will
likely
be the
most
cost-effective
option
since
you are
paying
the
monthly
premium
yourself.
The
issue
comes
when a
person
is on
individual
health
insurance
and they
are
offered
Small
Group
health
insurance
benefits
with a
new
group.
Important
items to
consider
when
looking
at Group
health
insurance
as an
employee
When a
company
is going
to pay a
part of
your
health
insurance
premium,
it
should
be a
no-brainer
to take
the
coverage.
There
are,
however,
some
important
issues
to
consider
first
before
canceling
your
individual
coverage.
How
is your
health?
If you
have a
chronic
or
serious
health
issue
(i.e.
you can
no
longer
qualify
to get
individual
health
insurance),
it can
be scary
to
cancel
an
individual
plan.
We have
had
clients
that
retained
their
individual
coverage
even
while
taking
employment
that
offered
group
health
insurance
due to
their
health.
Essentially,
they did
not want
to go
through
the
underwriting
process
again.
You do
have
Cobra
and HIPAA
options
as
mentioned
above,
but
those
are
either
expensive
or
temporary.
How
likely
is the
job (and
health
insurance)
to be
permanent
or long
term?
If you
are not
sure how
the job
will
work
out, it
might
make
sense to
keep
your
individual
plan for
a period
of time
to see
if the
company
works
well for
you.
If you
get into
a
company
and
three
months
later,
decide
to
leave,
you are
still in
the same
situation
above if
your
individual
plan was
cancelled.
Is
the new
company
likely
to
continue?
We would
recommend
being
cautious
with a
new
start-up
company
as well.
If a
company
shuts
down or
cancels
their
Group
health
insurance
plan,
the
Cobra
option disappears
with it.
Cobra
is,
after
all,
continuation
of the
group
health
plan so
no group
plan...no
Cobra.
HIPAA
guaranteed
issue
may be
available
but
there
are
instances
where
you did
not have
18
months
continuous
coverage
most
recently
on a
group in
which
HIPAA
might
not be
an
option.
Choice
of
carriers
and
networks.
A new
company
may only
have
Kaiser
or some
California
health carrier
that
does not
contract
with
your
long-term
doctor.
Also,
the
company
may
change
health
plans
(and/or
carriers)
at a
later
date.
This
would
force
you to
use the
network
available
or pay
significantly
more out
of
pocket.
Again,
if a new
employer
is
offering
group
health
insurance,
it
usually
makes
sense to
go that
route.
Just
make
sure to
consider
the
above
points
as some
people
are
caught
un-prepared
for
situations
resulting
from
canceling
individual
coverage
for a
new
group
plan.
Other
important
concepts
to help
you
understand
your
California health
insurance
quote
are:
Individual
health
insurance
underwriting
The
concept
of
health
insurance
A quick
introduction
to
California
health
insurance
history
Understanding
health
insurance
costs
To
run your
instant
health
insurance:
California
Individual
Family
health
insurance
quote
California
group
health
insurance
quote
CANCEL INDIVIDUAL 