Portability in health insurance refers to the ability to move from one insurance company to other without having to give up on the benefits. Insurance is generally employer-based. So when you change jobs or are fired from one, the first thing that grabs your attention is what about your insurance! You may not get the same benefits you enjoyed before. However, things are changing now and that is what this article will talk about.
Experts in the health-care sector are now arguing that the portability of insurance should move from the employer to the individual. This is great news for people because now as long as they have a stable insurance plan with one insurance provider and they pay their premiums on time, they wouldn’t have to worry about any job changes or other factors affecting their insurance.
Portability with HIPAA
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) now offers protection to both workers and their families. It helps you keep all the benefits from your previous insurance policy and prohibits discrimination on the grounds of medical conditions or previous claims.
IRDA and Portability
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) of India has also made it easy for employees in India to not worry about their insurance in case they changed jobs. The IRDA has made it easy for individuals to move from one insurance provider to another or even between different insurance plans with the same provider. Here are some benefits you can enjoy from this:
• It allows you to port your insurance policy from a general to a specialized health insurance provider
• There is no restriction on porting any kind of individual or family policies
• The insurance provider must insure for the same sum insured as was with your last policy
• The new insurance provider is obligated to provide the credit related to the waiting period for any pre-existing conditions you had with the old insurance company
• The porting of the insurance policy between the two insurance companies must happen according to the timelines provided by the IRDA
Things to Remember
Although portability is very employee friendly, there are some conditions that you must meet in order for you to transfer your insurance from one provider to the other.
• Portability is only possible at the time of renewal of the policy.
• Only the waiting period credit has to be the same as that of previous policy; all other terms such as the premiums can be decided by the new insurance company
• You must notify your current insurance provider about your wish to change to a different provider with at least 45 days notice before renewal.
• You must do so in writing and must specify the name of the insurance company you wish to switch to.
• You also need to make sure that there is no break in this process.
Go Online For Portability
There are online facilities available for you where you have access to all your health insurance data. This can also be accessed by the new insurance company to which you are porting to and ensures smooth portability.
