As important as they are, the federal and state health insurance reforms are limited. Therefore, you also should understand how the laws do not protect you.

· If you change jobs, you usually cannot take your old group health plan with you. Except when you exercise your COBRA or Cal-COBRA rights, you are not entitled to take your actual group health plan with you when you leave a job. Your new health plan may not cover all of the benefits or include the same doctors that your old health plan did. (see Group Health Plans)

· If you change jobs, your new employer may not offer you health benefits. Employers are required only to make sure that any health benefits they do offer do not discriminate based on health status. (see Group Health Plans)

· If you get a new job with health benefits, your coverage may not start right away. Employers can impose waiting periods before your health benefits begin. HMOs can require affiliation periods. (see Group Health Plans)

· If you have a break in coverage of 63 days or more, you may have to satisfy a new pre-existing condition exclusion period when you join a new group health plan. (see Group Health Plans)

· Even if you have continuous coverage, there may be a pre-existing condition exclusion period for some benefits if you join a group health plan that covers certain benefits your old plan did not. For example, say you move from a group plan that does not cover prescription drugs to one that does. You may have to wait up to one year before your new health plan will pay for drugs prescribed to treat a pre-existing condition. (see Group Health Plans)

· If you work for certain non-federal public employers in California, not all of the group health plan protections may apply to you. (see Group Health Plans)

· If you are not HIPAA eligible, your access to individual health insurance may depend on your health status. Generally, individual insurers in California are free to turn you down, charge more or limit coverage because of your health status and other factors. (see Individual Health Plans)

· Even if you are HIPAA eligible, you can be turned down for some individual health insurance policies. Insurance companies are allowed to limit your choices to two of the individual policies that they sell. (see Individual Health Plans)

· If you are a small employer buying a fully insured group health plan, you can be charged more, within limits, based on health status, age and other factors related to your group. Even with these limits, however, premiums can be significantly higher if someone in your group has a serious illness.(see Small Employer or Self-Employed Person)