How do newly hired employees prove that they had prior health coverage to be credited under HIPAA?
Under HIPAA, an employee’s former group health plan and any insurance company or HMO providing such coverage is required to give the employee a statement of prior health coverage. This is commonly called a certificate of creditable coverage. This certificate must be given to you when you lose coverage under the plan or otherwise become eligible for COBRA health insurance coverage. It must also be given to you when you stop working or when your COBRA coverage stops. COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) is the name of a federal law that gives workers or their family members a chance to buy group health coverage through their employer’s health plan for a limited period of time (for 18, 29, or 36 months) if they lose coverage due to certain events, including the end of employment, divorce, or death. You may request a certificate for up to 24 months after your coverage ended. You also may request a certificate even before your coverage ends.
Related Questions
- I recently hired some additional staff and now have 25 employees working for me. Do my obligations under the health and safety laws change?
- How do newly hired employees prove that they had prior health coverage to be credited under HIPAA?
- How will newly hired employees prove that they had prior creditable coverage?
