Mississippi Health Insurance Coverage...
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   If you are searching for ways to lower your health insurance costs and you live in the State of Mississippi...We, here at HealthInsureCoverage.com, work hard to supply you with the information you need to make an informed decision regarding your health insurance needs and requirements.

• A Summary of your Protections in the State of Mississippi.
     Numerous state and federal laws make it easier for people with pre-existing conditions to get or keep health insurance, or to change from one health plan to another. A federal law, known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets national standards for all health plans. In addition, states can pass different reforms for the health plans they regulate (fully insured group health plans and individual health plans), so your protections may vary if you leave Mississippi. Neither federal nor state laws protect your access to health insurance in all circumstances.
      The following information summarizes how federal and state laws do – or do not – protect you as a Mississippi resident. In Mississippi, as in many other states, your health insurance options are somewhat dependent on your health status. Even if you are sick, however the laws protect you in the following ways.
• There is the principle called Nondiscrimination.
     Coverage under your group health plan (if your employer offers one) cannot be denied or limited, nor can you be required to pay more, because of your health status.
• All group health plans in Mississippi must limit exclusion of pre-existing conditions.
     There are rules about what counts as a pre-existing condition and how long you must wait before a new group health plan will begin to pay for care for that condition. Generally, if you join a new group health plan, your old coverage will be credited toward the pre-existing condition exclusion period, provided you did not have a long break in coverage.
• Your health insurance cannot be canceled because you get sick. Most health insurance is guaranteed renewable.
• If you leave your job, you may be able to remain in your old group health plan for a certain length of time.
     This is called COBRA or state continuation coverage. It can help when you are between jobs or waiting for a new health plan to cover your pre-existing condition. There are limits on what you can be charged for this coverage.
• If you lose your group health insurance and meet other qualifications, you will be federally eligible.
     If so, you can buy an individual health plan from the Mississippi Comprehensive Health Insurance Risk Pool Association (MCHIRPA). You will not face a new pre-existing condition exclusion period. There are limits on what you can be charged for an MCHIRPA policy.
• If you have had difficulty obtaining affordable individual health insurance because of your health condition, you may also be eligible for MCHIRPA coverage.
  In this case you may face a new pre-existing condition exclusion period. There are limits on what you can be charged for an MCHIRPA policy.
• If you are a small employer buying a group health plan, you cannot be turned down because of the health status, age, or any factor that might predict the use of health services of those in your group.
     All health plans for small employers must be sold on a guaranteed issue basis.
• If you are a small employer buying a group health plan, there are limits on what you can be charged due to the health status, age, gender, or occupation of those in your group.
• If you have low or modest household income, you may be eligible for free or subsidized health coverage for yourself or members of your family.
     The Mississippi Medicaid program offers free health coverage for pregnant women, families with children, and elderly and disabled individuals with very low incomes. The Mississippi Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) offers free or subsidized health coverage for uninsured children.
• What are the Limits on your Protections.
• If you change jobs, you usually cannot take your old health benefits with you.
     Except when you exercise your federal or state COBRA rights, you are not entitled to take your actual group health coverage with you when you leave a job. Your new health plan may not cover all of the benefits or the same doctors that your old plan did.
• If you change jobs, your new employer may not offer you health benefits.
     Employers are required only to make sure that their decision is based on factors unrelated to your health status.
• If you get a new job with health benefits, your coverage may not start right away.
     Employers can require waiting periods before your health benefits begin. HMOs can require affiliation periods .
• If you have a break in coverage of 63 days or more, you may have to satisfy a new pre-existing condition exclusion period when you join a new group health plan.
• If you join MCHIRPA and are not federally eligible, you may face a pre-existing condition exclusion period.
• Even if your coverage is continuous, there may be a pre-existing condition exclusion period for some benefits if you join a group health plan that covers benefits your old plan did not.
     For example, say you move from a group plan that does not cover prescription drugs to one that does. You may have to wait up to one year before your new health plan will pay for drugs prescribed to treat a pre-existing condition.
• In Mississippi, your access to individual health insurance may depend on your health status.
     Private insurers are not prohibited from turning you down, charging more, or limiting coverage because of pre-existing conditions. If you are federally eligible, MCHIRPA is your only guaranteed access to individual health insurance, though you may be able to buy individual health insurance from other insurance companies.
     Once you obtain coverage, your ability to switch plans may be limited as well. While you have protections when you move from an individual policy to a group plan, Mississippi law does not protect you from the imposition of pre-existing condition exclusions when you move from one individual plan to another, even if you had prior continuous coverage. Furthermore, you are not assured the right to buy another individual policy.
• If you work for certain non-federal public employers in Mississippi, not all of the group health plan protections may apply to you.

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