HIPAA is another federal law that covers a number of things, including guaranteed conversion of COBRA continuation into an individual plan. The benefit of the HIPAA guaranteed insurance is that if you have a significant medical condition and cannot otherwise get affordable health insurance, you will be guaranteed a minimum level of coverage and a lower payment than if you were to buy individual insurance without this conversion. You must also stay on COBRA the entire period, though you'll want to do the HIPAA conversion paperwork well in advance of the end of COBRA.
To take advantage of this law, you should work with an agent experienced with HIPAA conversion - nobody is going to come to you and tell you about HIPAA guaranteed coverage and sign you up, you'll have to push for it. State law comes into play for HIPAA guaranteed options, too, so you'll want to check with your state department of insurance to learn your rights in your state. HIPAA is there for folks that really need it, but there are other options.
---SPSmith
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