Are there differences between group and individual insurance?
In most cases, group plans are required by Federal law to provide maternity coverage, though there may be a probationary period for coverage. Group insurance can NOT exclude pregnancy as a pre-existing condition thanks to HIPAA, so you should not worry about switching from individual to group coverage or from one employer-paid health plan to another. However, individual insurance does not offer this same protection, and indeed many individual health plans these days do not cover maternity at all. I switched jobs and am pregnant, I heard I could be denied group coverage with my new employer because my pregnancy is a pre-exisiting condition, do I have to worry? Under Federal law (HIPAA), a group plan can NOT consider pregnancy a pre-existing condition. However, if the new plan has a waiting period for coverage (could be up to several months), the waiting period will still apply.
