Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act 

Under HIPAA, you and your family are eligible to participate in any group health plan without pre-existing conditions as a concerned, provided you had coverage under a previous group health plan, and do not, or did not have a break in coverage as explained below.

Under HIPAA, a group health plan or a health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage may impose a pre-existing condition exclusion with respect to a participant or beneficiary only if the following requirements are satisfied:

• a pre-existing condition exclusion must relate to a condition for which medical advice, diagnosis, care or treatment was recommended or received during the 6-month period prior to an individual's enrollment date;
• a preexisting condition exclusion may not last for more than 12 months (18 months for late enrollees) after an individual's enrollment date; and
• this 12- (or 18-) month period must be reduced by the number of days of the individual's prior creditable coverage, excluding coverage before any break in coverage of 63 days or more.