So, in trying to get my fiance health insurance through my work, I have come to learn about and loathe HIPPA. Well, I don't necessarily loathe it. But I'm pissed off that we're getting screwed and we didn't have any warning.
It turns out that "health" insurance companies can deny you treatment for "pre-existing conditions" if you go without insurance for 63 days. (90 days in Washington State.) So, because my sweetie was without insurance for 66 days this summer, we're going to have to pay hefty premiums to the insurance company for 6 months while they get to deny treatment for anything she has.
I guess if she gets anything new, or gets hit by a bus, she'll probably get covered. But I don't trust the company to not be total bastards and claim that the bus was just part of a pre-existing condition and drive us to bankruptcy. And I'm pissed off that we're going to pay them thousands of dollars to do jack shit. Jerks.
I guess it's possible that before HIPPA you could get screwed like this if you went without insurance for a single day. But why the hell wasn't I informed of this? Why didn't my employer folder full of information about the terms and conditions of signing up for "health" insurance include a 3 page, tiny-font disclaimer about this bullshit?
Update: So I found the disclaimer in the fine print of the signup form for Blue Cross. Which is too late. People need to know about this when they lose insurance, not when they're signing up for new insurance.
And as it turns out, it won't be a problem after all because my sweetie was insured in Washington state, where the window to get new coverage is longer. Which begs the question: why isn't it longer in Oregon?
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