New federal regulations that have to do with conditions of one's health that are preexisting are known as the Health Insurance, Portability, and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. This law is meant to protect individuals and their health insurance in case they lose or switch jobs, and it is also meant to help prevent fraud and abuse by creating penalties for committing certain offenses. The following guidelines are meant to help one understand the limitations on coverage and how one is able to obtain coverage based on preexisting conditions. HIPAA offers all of this information freely online and in every doctor's office and hospital throughout the country. If one has any questions, he or she should speak to a hospital administrator.

Limitations on HIPAA include the exclusion of preexisting conditions on group plans based on certain criterion. This means that an individual's health or disability cannot be used in order to gain insurance. These federal regulations are only meant to help protect people in case of being told that there may be a waiting period to gain coverage if he or she has a preexisting condition.

In order for this exclusion to not apply, HIPAA has certain requirements that can be met to allow for preexisting conditions. One must have an insurance plan in place and must not have let it lapse at all for the period of twelve months prior to this. Once this condition has been met, one must then enroll in a new plan to cover the new medical expenses.

There are also limitations that exclude certain illnesses from being counted as preexisting conditions. For instance, pregnancy or genetic markers or abnormalities are not considered preexisting conditions. Pregnancy coverage cannot be excluded, however, simply based on the fact that the woman did not have prior health insurance coverage. Only in cases where a disease is diagnosed can genetic markers be considered a preexisting condition.

Employers are not required under HIPAA to insure their employees. If an employer has two or more members enrolled in a group plan, then HIPAA's rights and laws do apply; however, some states do allow for a group plan for self-employed individuals. The rights guaranteed to individuals under HIPAA's provisions are null if an individual switches to a new plan.

Also, for a preexisting condition's exclusion to be void, coverage must be continuous. Breaks or lapses in coverage are allowed, but no longer than 63 days. The time a person did have coverage before a lapse in said coverage is allowed to be used as an offset for the preexisting condition's exclusion, provided that the amount of time was no more than sixty three days.