Buying Individual Health Insurance

[talksick]

Hi All,
I was reading an ICA article about buying individual health insurance with a chronic condition and it just made me more confused. Does anyone know specifically about buying insurance in NJ? Does NJ have an "open-season" or high risk pool for people with chronic illnesses? This is all very confusing.
Kim

[laurarankel]

Kim,

I was an insurance agent for 14 years before i became too ill to work in march. the best thing you can do to find out if there is a pool in NJ is call your local states department of Insurance. If there isn't, you may qualify for a HIPAA type plan if you meet some pretty strict guidelines. The main one being no lapse in coverage for more than 63 days and if you were offered cobra, you have to have elexted and exhausted all 18 months. at least that's houw it works in AZ. Every state is different, so you can feel free to let me know wher you are as far as prior insurance and lapses in coverage. i may not know all the info, but I can at least help point you in the right direction.

good luck,
Laura :hi: