In Ohio, when an individual is covered under a small employer's accident and health plan, the pre-existing conditions exclusion period may be partially or wholly satisfied by

• A. having creditable coverage with a previous employer
• B. owning an individual dread disease policy
• C. electing a high deductible plan
• D. paying a fee

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that prior health coverage can reduce or eliminate the waiting period for pre-existing conditions when you enroll in a new plan. This is called creditable coverage. If you had health insurance with a previous employer, that time counts toward satisfying the pre-existing condition exclusion in your new, small-employer plan, provided you have documentation (a certificate of creditable coverage) showing how long you were insured. This safeguards you from having to serve a new, full exclusion period just because you switched plans.

So, having creditable coverage with a previous employer is what allows the new plan to partially or wholly satisfy the pre-existing condition exclusion. The other options don’t provide that credited coverage: a dread disease policy is a separate, limited benefit policy; electing a high deductible plan or paying a fee doesn’t establish prior creditable coverage.