Policy Statement:
Lifetime benefit accumulations are handled in the following manner when coverage changes occur:

• When a member changes from a group health plan of one employer to a group health plan of another employer, a new lifetime benefit accumulation begins.
• When a member changes from a group health plan to a non-group health plan, a new lifetime benefit accumulation begins.
• When a member changes from a non-group policy to a group health plan, a new lifetime benefit accumulation begins.
• When a member changes from one non-group policy with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina to another non-group policy with Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the lifetime benefit accumulation continues.  In effect, the lifetime benefit accumulation accrued under the previous non-group policy is carrier over to the current non-group policy. Note: The PBP and new Personal Blues state that the lifetime maximum accumulates while covered under that policy. So, if a member changes from one PBP to another, the lifetime maximum does not accumulate. However, under the SCHIP, it states that if you have SCHIP coverage, any prior SCHIP coverage you had will accumulate toward the lifetime maximum. 
• When a member’s group health plan transfers from one benefit structure to another, the lifetime benefit accumulation continues.
• When a member transfers from one sub-group of an employer to another sub-group of the employer or from one sub-group of an association to another sub-group of the association, the lifetime benefit accumulation continues.