Legal Issues and Insurance Coverage

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The FMLA stipulates that a covered employer must grant an eligible employee up to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for any of the following reasons:

Birth and care of the employee's newborn child.
Placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care.
To care for an immediate family member (spouse, child or parent) with a serious health condition.
When the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.

A covered employer is required to maintain group health-insurance coverage for an employee on FMLA leave whenever such insurance was provided before the leave was taken, and on the same terms as if the employee had continued to work. In this situation, employees must pay their share of health-insurance premiums while on leave. For more information on the FMLA, contact your employer or visit the Department of Labor Web site at www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla. To determine if the FMLA applies to your employer, see www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_825/29CFR825.104.htm.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The ADA was enacted in July of 1990 to protect people with disabilities from discrimination and to ensure equal access to employment and public facilities. This act may also be beneficial to parents of children with cancer. Although the ADA defines the term "disability," it does not include a list of conditions that are always disabilities; each case is considered on an individual basis. According to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), cancer is not always considered a disability. For more information, call the Department of Justice at 1-800-514-0301 or visit the Web site at www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm.

Consolidated Omnibus Budget and Reconciliation Act of 1987 (COBRA)

COBRA was enacted to supply continued coverage of health insurance to workers who lost eligibility for health insurance because they were relocated or changed jobs, or because their work hours had been reduced. This coverage is temporary, and the employee is responsible for the cost. To see if you are eligible to continue your health insurance benefits with COBRA or for more information, please contact your employer's human resources department. For additional information, contact the Department of Labor at www.dol.gov/dol/topic/health-plans/cobra.htm or the Employee Benefits Security Administration's toll-free employee and employer hotline at 1-866-444-EBSA. If you have a job with health-insurance coverage, try to keep it until you have other coverage.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA)

HIPAA was designed to protect access to health insurance in a variety of situations. HIPAA may help you:

Get health coverage for yourself and your dependents if you start a new job.
Lower the risk of losing existing healthcare coverage, whether you have that coverage through a job or through individual health insurance.
Maintain continuous health coverage for yourself and your dependents when you change jobs.
Buy health-insurance coverage on your own if you lose coverage under an employer's group health plan and have no other health coverage available.

For additional information, contact your state's commission of insurance, or visit the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Web site at www.cms.hhs.gov/hipaa.