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 health benefits with you. Except when you exercise your federal COBRA or state continuation rights, you are not entitled to take your actual group health coverage with you when you leave a job. Your new health plan may not cover all of the benefits or the same doctors that your old plan did. (see Group Health Plans)

· Employers are not required to provide health benefits for their employees, so if you change jobs, you may find that your new employer does 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 require waiting periods before your health benefits begin. Health maintenance organizations (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 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 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 Florida, not all of the group health plan protections may apply to you. (see Group Health Plans)

· In Florida, if you are not HIPAA eligible, your access to individual health insurance may depend on your health status. Private insurers are not prohibited from turning you down, charging more, or limiting coverage because of pre-existing conditions. (see Individual Health Plans)

· Even if you are HIPAA eligible, you can be turned down for some individual health policies. The law permits insurers to limit your choices to two policies, which are supposed to be comparable to others they sell in the individual market in Florida. (see Individual Health Plans)

· The law does not limit what you can be charged for individual health insurance except when you are buying a conversion policy. You can be charged substantially higher premiums because of your health status, age, gender, and other characteristics. (see Individual Health Plans)

· If you move away from Florida, you may not be able to buy individual health insurance in another state unless you are HIPAA eligible. (see Individual Health Plans)