Can employers as you to fill out a health history form when they are trying to get new health insurance rates?
My employer asked staff to complete medical health history questionnaires for a new insurance company from where they are trying to get rates? Is this legal? They said it is not optional unless we were waving coverage. However, they are only trying to get rates.
Tags: Health, insurance, Medical History
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on Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 6:00 am and is filed under Other - General Health Care.
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That is legit and legal. I have had to do that several times.
Yes, because your history will effect their rate. Insurance companies are funny that way. They don’t like the pre-existing situations. They spend more money on you.
if you want the health insurance, yes they can ask you to fill out their forms. You don’t have to get their insurance tho, you can get your own, but it will likely entail you filling out a form asking the same sorts of things anyway. The one thing the employer cannot do is require it for employment. Only if you want the insurance.
Yup, sorry but they can. I have worked in HR for years. Every time my employer wanted to look at a different company or get new rates every employee who wanted to keep insurance had to fill out the forms. It is how the insurance company decides how much to charge. I always had employees coming in to complain to me about it and I know it seems intrusive. But it is legal and legit, once you are employed.
They can require you to do this as a condition of obtaining coverage. BUT, this is confidential information for the insurance company not the employer. You have every right to send the form directly to the insurance carrier and refuse to let anyone from your company see the form with your health history. You could even decline to send it to their insurance agent and instead send it directly to the insurance company.