My Health Insurance of Washington, a Seattle Health Insurance Advisory company, announces opportunit

Seattle, WA Sept 16, 2009 Washington State requirements effective October 1st allow people to forgo their current expensive COBRA coverage and purchase cost effective individual health insurance regardless of pre-existing conditions.

Says Jeff Lindstrom, principle of My Health Insurance of Washington, “The result of the new rules change is positive for people getting hammered by the high cost of their COBRA coverage.” Under the new provisions, anyone currently on COBRA coverage, eligible for COBRA coverage, or within 90 days after losing COBRA coverage, can now enroll in a Private Health Insurance plan regardless of their health conditions, sometimes known as “pre-existing conditions.” Says Lindstrom, “These new provisions have not been widely advertised, thus Washington residents may currently pay far more for coverage under COBRA than they need to. We see this as a great opportunity for health insurance consumers in Washington State.”

The new provisions are effective under the Washington Standard Health Questionnaire (SHQ) which is required to be completed by most people seeking coverage under individual health insurance plans. The new SHQ, effective October 1st 2009, allows additional reasons for consumers to be exempt from filling out this questionnaire. The result is that people who would have failed the SHQ due to health reasons and been denied access to individual health insurance plans may now be accepted.

There are 8 provisions for being exempt from the SHQ, but numbers 3-6 now specifically mention COBRA. If you meet the criteria in numbers 3-6 you are exempt form the SHQ. These read:

3. Are you applying for individual health coverage within 90 days of using up your COBRA coverage? (This includes loss of COBRA coverage due to your employer going out of business or discontinuing its health plan while you are on COBRA.)

4. Have you been covered by a group plan provided by an employer that is exempt from COBRA, and you are applying for individual health coverage within 90 days of an event which would qualify you for COBRA if your employer had not been exempt from COBRA, and you had at least 24 months of continuous group coverage prior to such event?

5. Are you applying for individual health coverage within 90 days of terminating your COBRA coverage and you had at least 24 months of continuous group coverage prior to termination?

6. Are you applying for individual health coverage within 90 days of an event which qualifies you for COBRA, and you had at least 24 months of continuous group coverage prior to such event but you choose not to take COBRA coverage?

My Health Insurance of Washington can help clarify if any of these new provisions apply to a consumer’s situation. They specialize in finding creative and cost effective health insurance solutions for their clients. Based in Seattle, Washington, their sole focus in on Washington State Health Insurance.