§ 44-4228. Pool coverage; exclusions; application for coverage; requirements.

(1) Pool coverage shall exclude charges or expenses incurred during the first six months following the effective date of pool coverage as to any condition (a) which had manifested itself during the six-month period immediately preceding the effective date of pool coverage in such a manner as would cause an ordinarily prudent person to seek diagnosis, care, or treatment or (b) for which medical advice, care, or treatment was recommended or received during the six-month period immediately preceding the effective date of pool coverage. (2) Any individual whose health coverage is involuntarily terminated on or after January 1, 1992, and who is not eligible for a conversion policy or a continuation-of-coverage policy or contract available under state or federal law may apply for pool coverage but shall submit proof of eligibility pursuant to subdivision (1)(a) of section 44-4221. If such proof is supplied and if pool coverage is applied for under the Comprehensive Health Insurance Pool Act within sixty days after the involuntary termination and if premiums are paid to the pool for the entire coverage period, any waiting period or preexisting condition exclusions provided for under the pool coverage shall be waived to the extent similar exclusions, if any, under the previous health coverage have been satisfied and the effective date of the pool coverage shall be the day following termination of the previous health coverage. The board may assess an additional premium for pool coverage provided pursuant to this subsection notwithstanding the premium limitations stated in section 44-4227. For purposes of this section, an individual whose health coverage is involuntarily terminated means an individual whose health insurance or health plan is terminated by reason of the withdrawal by the insurer from this state, bankruptcy or insolvency of the employer or employer trust fund, or cessation by the employer of providing any group health plan for all of its employees. (3) Any individual whose health coverage under a continuation-of-coverage policy or contract available under state or federal law terminates or is involuntarily terminated on or after July 1, 1993, for any reasons other than nonpayment of premium may apply for pool coverage but shall submit proof of eligibility applied for within ninety days after the termination or involuntary termination. If premiums are paid to the pool for the entire coverage period, the effective date of the pool coverage shall be the day following termination of the previous coverage under the continuation-of-coverage policy or contract. Any waiting period or preexisting condition exclusions provided for under the pool shall be waived to the extent similar exclusions, if any, under any prior health coverage have been satisfied. (4) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to an individual who has received medical assistance pursuant to the Medical Assistance Act or section 43-522 or an organ transplant recipient terminated from coverage under medicare during the six-month period immediately preceding the effective date of coverage. (5) All waiting periods and preexisting conditions shall be waived for an individual eligible for pool coverage under subdivision (1)(b) of section 44-4221. (6) The waiting period and preexisting condition exclusions are waived for a qualified trade adjustment assistance eligible individual under subdivision (1)(c) of section 44-4221 if the individual maintained creditable coverage for an aggregate period of three months as of the date on which the individual seeks to enroll in pool coverage, not counting any period prior to a sixty-three-day break in coverage. History: Laws 1985, LB 391, § 28; Laws 1989, LB 279, § 10; Laws 1990, LB 1136, § 108; Laws 1991, LB 419, § 5; Laws 1992, LB 835, § 1; Laws 1994, LB 1222, § 60; Laws 1997, LB 862, § 28; Laws 1998, LB 1035, § 9; Laws 2000, LB 1253, § 30; Laws 2004, LB 1047, § 13; Laws 2006, LB 1248, § 63.