If you have had continuous health insurance for the past 18 months, with your most recent coverage under an employer-sponsored group health plan, you are protected under federal HIPAA regulations. This law states that no insurance company may place a waiting period on pre-eisting medical conditions if you have not had a lapse in coverage for more than 63 days. If your lapse has been more than 63 days, you may still receive some credit toward any pre-eisting condition eclusionary period, for any length of time that you have had coverage within that waiting period. For instance, let's say you have a medical condition that has a one year eclusionary period on your new health plan and you had continuous coverage until 3 months ago. You may qualify for a 9 month credit toward this eclusionary period. There may be eceptions to this rule, such as having a pre-eisting condition for which you were not covered under your previous group health plan. If you already have a job lined up in New Jersey, try to find out what insurance plan you will be covered under, and when you will be eligible for coverage. Many employers have a probationary period that you must meet before you can be added to the group plan. If you can find out the name of the health insurance company they use, you can contact that insurance company to address any concerns you have about their pre-eisting condition policies. If you have access to COBRA coverage from your previous employer, and it provides benefits in New Jersey, it might be advisable to accept that option to avoid any lapse of coverage.