State RegulationsVA specificDifficulty 2/5
A Virginia employee covered under a group health plan leaves for active military service and applies for reinstatement upon returning. Under Va. Code § 38.2-508.1(B), what treatment does his group coverage receive?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
Va. Code § 38.2-508.1(B) protects the group coverage of Virginia policyholders who enter military service by entitling them to reinstatement when they return. The returning service member is not processed as a brand-new applicant: the coverage is restored without a fresh waiting period and without new evidence of insurability. The provision exists precisely so that military service does not permanently cost a Virginian his health coverage, and it operates alongside the insurer's obligations administered by the Virginia Bureau of Insurance.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) Treating the returning service member as a new applicant with a fresh preexisting review contradicts the reinstatement right of Va. Code § 38.2-508.1(B).
- C) No penalty surcharge is authorized; reinstatement terms are fixed by the statute, not set at the insurer's discretion.
- D) The statute exists to preserve coverage rights through military service, not to cancel them permanently.
Memory hook
Serve and return — coverage snaps back without a new gatekeeper.