A health insurance company may have waiting periods that will affect the amount of time before you are able to use the benefits of your health insurance coverage. There are several different kinds of health insurance waiting periods. Theses waiting periods include employer imposed waiting periods, pre-existing waiting periods and Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) affiliation waiting periods.

New employees who have health insurance benefits may not be able to enroll right away. Many employers have chosen to have waiting period for new employees. This period is often 90 days but can be a shorter or longer period of time. Once the employees has completed this trial period they become eligible to enroll for health insurance coverage. Usually the coverage begins on the first of the month. Employers impose these periods to prevent an employee from filing a claim immediately upon employment.

A pre-existing condition is a medical condition that the insured person was diagnosed or treated for before becoming insured, usually within the six to twelve months prior to coverage. Once the health insurance company has determined that you have a pre-existing condition the benefits for that particular condition are either limited or excluded. This waiting period varies, usually it is twelve months. Once that waiting period has passed the condition is covered like any other medical condition. If you had group health insurance previously then the time you had the policy is credited to the pre-existing waiting period of the new policy. If you had group health insurance through previous employment for at least one year and then were re-employed within 63 days, the pre-existing waiting period under the new policy will be waived. If you were continuously covered by health insurance for 18 months or more, then no waiting period can be imposed. A federal law called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) keeps health insurance companies from imposing waiting periods for employees who fall in these categories.

Group health insurance through an HMO may have an affiliation period. This waiting period is limited to two months from the date of enrollment in the plan. The HMO plan is not allowed to exclude pre-existing conditions. During this waiting period the HMO cannot charge for coverage and the enrollee will not have any benefits during this period. The waiting period can be up to three months if the employee is a late enrollee.

When enrolling in a new health insurance plan, be sure to check the policy documents or ask your employer about health insurance waiting periods. It is important to understand when your benefits begin and if you will be subject to any pre-existing condition waiting periods.