Medical Expense✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 2/5
Under HIPAA portability rules, a person moving from one group health plan to another receives credit for prior continuous coverage, which reduces:
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
HIPAA's portability provisions limit how group health plans may apply pre-existing condition exclusions by giving individuals credit for prior continuous creditable coverage. A person with adequate prior coverage who changes jobs cannot be subjected to a new pre-existing condition exclusion that ignores the earlier coverage. This credit mechanism is part of the HIPAA material in the legislative impact section under AH-III.B.4. The effect is that coverage moves with the worker, reducing the bite of waiting periods tied to health history.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) HIPAA portability concerns health coverage, not retirement plan waiting periods.
- C) Out-of-pocket maximums are plan design features, not something prior coverage credit reduces.
- D) Prior coverage credit does not lower the premium of the new group plan.
Memory hook
HIPAA credit: past coverage follows you, shrinking pre-existing exclusions.