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Send us an email inquiryIn 1996, the Health and Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed in the United States instituting a new standard of industry practices. For a US traveler, this can be of great importance especially after returning back to the US with an international policy.
With most international insurance plans, a certificate of credible coverage is issued when your policy terminates. If you will be transitioning to a US group insurance plan, your certificate of coverage will be reviewed and may reduce your waiting period for pre-existing conditions. If the plan is HIPAA complaint, your new domestic group insurance will apply this coverage toward waiting periods on pre-existing conditions. Non-HIPAA complaints may or may not be accepted by your new group insurance.
As the United States Department of Labor explains, HIPAA regulations state “that a preexisting condition exclusion can be imposed on a condition only if medical advice, diagnosis, care, or treatment was recommended or received during the 6 months prior to your enrollment date in the plan.” The maximum waiting period on a pre-existing condition plan that is HIPAA compliant is 12 months – or 18 months for a late enrollee.
If this is a concern, you may want to consider the Global Citizen plan- the only international insurance that is HIPAA compliant. You can purchase between 6 and 12 months of coverage, with the option to renew annually. Once you return to the US, you have the option to continue with your plan or switch to a domestic carrier – presenting your HIPAA compliant certificate of credible coverage. For further details on the Global Citizen plan, you can view our HIPAA compliant international health insurance here.
Tags: HIPAA Compliant insurance, HIPAA Compliant international, HIPAA Compliant international health insurance, HIPAA Insurance travel, HIPAA International insurance, HIPAA International insurance plan, HIPAA Travel plan
This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at 5:41 pm and is filed under International Expatriate Health Insurance, International Health Insurance, International Travel Insurance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.