How Individual Family insurance
works between States
People in the United States move
around quite a bit. This poses
quite an issue in terms of
Individual health insurance as
the carriers are separate companies
from State to State and for the most
part, health insurance does not
transfer across State lines.
If a person is healthy, this is not
a problem as the person can apply
and qualify in the new State.
If there are health issues or
pre-existing conditions, are
options can be limited. The
other issue is when a person is out
of State and needs medical services
or if a person lives on a State
border where a number of providers
are officially in another State even
if only ten miles away. Let's
look at some of these options.
Moving to another State and
Individual health insurance
Many people do not realize that
their current individual health
insurance is based on residency.
The average rule is that a
person must be in their
residency State for a majority
of the year (over 6 months).
This can be an issue for someone
who splits time between State or
moves permanently to another
State. Once a person has
decided to permanently move to a
State such as California and has
a residence address in the
State, it's best to start the
process. The
underwriting process can
take time so it's best to get a
jump start. If a person's
waits till last minute, they
find they are in California
without coverage in force.
Their prior coverage may not
have a network in the new State.
Do not cancel any prior coverage
until approved at the plan and
rate you want in your new State.
At a minimum, you may have
emergency care on the old
plan.
This situation is very common
when people are considering
retirement in another State and
are not yet age 65 (at which
point
Medicare kicks in).
California may have options for
people who are unable to qualify
for individual health insurance
with the major carriers. A
person should also investigate
whether they have a
Cobra option (through prior
employer-sponsored plan).
Medical services out of State
and your California individual
health insurance
Generally speaking, the carriers may
only provide true emergency coverage
(check with carrier for their
definition of emergency but be
conservative) out of State for HMO
plans. On the PPO side,
Blue Cross of California and
Blue Shield of California are
part of the
Blue Card program which may
extend your benefits when seeing
providers in other States.
Always check with Carrier regarding
their rules for out of State.
Some carrier have very limited if no
networks outside of the State.
Providers across State line
There are locations along the
California border where health care
providers may be just across State
line. The same general
guidelines above for out of State
are a good rule of thumb but some of
the major California carriers
address this issue by extending
networks in such areas. PPO
plans with Blue Cross or Blue Shield
(as part of the Blue Card network)
are ideal in this situation.
Other
important
concepts
to help
you
understand
your
California health
insurance
quote
are:
Individual
health
insurance
underwriting
Individual
health
enrollment
The
concept
of
health
insurance
Access
to the
individual
applications
Split
policies
with
family
members
INDIVIDUAL