As a small business, can we buy a group insurance plan, even if one of us is ill?

If you have had difficulty in qualifying for insurance in the past, now is the time to reapply.

The recently passed Federal Kennedy/Kessenbaum Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 provides for increased insurance availability to small groups. If your company has from two to fifty employees, insurance carriers must offer your firm an insurance plan. Pre-existing conditions are covered after 12 months or 18 months, and are limited to those conditions for which you have been treated in the last six months. These changes become effective July 1, 1997, and you should apply by June 1, 1997.

In California, your firm is guaranteed eligible for a group plan if you have three or more employees. An insurance company is allowed to charge you up to 10% more than the standard rates it offers. If the employees in your company are especially healthy, your firm may be eligible for up to a 10% discount.

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