|
 Printer  Email
Your Health Insurance Options:
For those of us with have any sort of pre-existing medical condition, are too young to qualify for Medicare Benefits, are doing just a little too well to be on Medicaid, are too broke to afford a steep out-of-pocket premium, or are too ıself-employedı to participate in a group plan, todayıs health-insurance marketplace can be daunting.
Are You Left Out of the Health Insurance World?
The need to purchase a health insurance plan of your own tends to make you one of the ıunwanted children of the medical insurance marketplace. The employees of smaller firms unable or unwilling to offer health benefits, the self-employed, those of us who are lingering between jobs, the recently divorced or widowed, young adults moving off of their parents' health plans or early retirees -- all need to buy an individual or family policy and are entering into a peril-fraught marketplace where good advice and reasonable prices are scarce.
Are There Any Insurance Options for Me?
There aren't too many health carriers interested in offering their products to individuals such as those described above, and their reasons for that are fairly straightforward. With employer paid plans, the premiums of the healthier tend to cover the claims of the ill. But, with individual health plans, there are no alternate revenue streamsıand as a direct result, many health insurers claim that even a high premium won't cover their costs if you fall ill or have an accident.
Many carriers try to avoid writing individual health policies. That doesnıt mean that there aren't good deals to be found, but just as with any other marketplace, effective comparison shopping will be essential.
What to Look Out for When Getting and Staying Insured
- Coverage for Pre-Existing Illnesses: The majority of individual policies must be medically underwritten. What that means is providers will take a closer than average look at your medical records, turning you down if you have a condition posing too much risk.
It's not odd that most insurers would deny coverage to anyone with a serious condition, but if youıre faced with the sort of provider who also turns down applicants suffering from ailments as minor as ear infections, you may want to look elsewhere.
- Gaps in the Regulations: There are a small number of insurance carriers who offer health plans that appear to be group benefits when they arenıt. These providers arrange for a policy under what's known as a ıgroup discretionary trustı in an under-regulated state. These carriers then offer their semi-bogus health plans in other states. If youıre faced with business practiced in such a fashion, keep looking.
- The Cracks in the System: Back in 1996, the passage of Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act mandated that every state provide a source of last resort for you to buy into a health plan. Unfortunately, the law really didnıt really solve many of healthcareıs basic problems, and in fact, left the marketplace more or less unchanged. HIPAA did lay out minimum standards for coverage, but it didnıt ensure that you would have access to a health plan regardless of your health status.
The resulting hodgepodge of insurance regulations vary from state to state and have left behind a definite need for unbiased sources from which to gather both independent health insurance quotes and health plan information.
|
