Group health insurance, as part of a group plan at a full-time job, is generally offered at lower rates on premiums compared to individual health insurance coverage. But if you leave your job – or start another one that doesn’t offer health insurance, a group health plan may not be an option. And you may be surprised at just how expensive the same coverage is when you buy individual health insurance.
While individual health insurance plans are purchased directly from carriers, leaving out the employer middle man, they do not offer the fuller range of benefits and lower rates associated with the typical workplace group plan. However, individual plans may cover you, your spouse, and your children. The two other main methods to get an individual health insurance plan when you’re not fully employed with a group health plan are to obtain either “short-term” and/or “catastrophic” coverage.
“Medically underwritten” individual plans allow the insurer to reject your application or attach exclusions to your policy if you have a “prior existing condition”. So there is no guarantee that an insurer will accept you for an individual policy. Under “Guaranteed Issue” laws, some states require that health insurance carriers issue you a policy, no matter what medical problems you have. Do your homework and check the list of “Guaranteed Issue” laws for your state. The Kaiser Family Foundation has published a list of these laws.
The typically higher premiums for individual plans are determined by the “expected” health care costs of the enrolled customer, so their rates continually increase as the customer grows older. If and/or when you’re confronted with finding individual health care insurance, don’t be confused or tempted into going without coverage. You may be perfectly healthy and still suffer a serious accident and be forced into “medical bankruptcy”, as millions of others are each year.
So don’t lose your rights to coverage of pre-existing conditions. Don’t go without insurance for 63 days or more, a time period set by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
You may feel locked out of the health insurance market if, for example, you’ve been uninsured for too long, or have a “pre-existing condition”. It may seem impossible, there are practical ways you may be able to get coverage.
If you are a self-employed, sole proprietor, even home-based, you need to do your research carefully. Because in some states, you can be eligible to buy health insurance as a “group of one”. All you need is proof that you’ve been in business for at least 30 days.
You might qualify for a group rate if you own a business and have at least one partner or employee, even if you live in a state that does not offer these “group of one” insurance policies. For example, does your spouse do some bookkeeping or any other business-related tasks for your company? That setup qualifies you as a two-person business, and therefore makes you eligible for a group rate policy.
Let’s say you’re planning on leaving an employer where you have a group health plan. Simply ask the insurer to convert it to an individual health plan. The rate will, of course, be higher than your group plan, but at least you’ve secured your health insurance if you have medical conditions. Another option to check on: if your spouse has a group plan at work, you might be able to be added on to it.
Looking to find the best deal on Guaranteed Individual Health Insurance? Then visit here to find the best advice on Gauranteed Issue Health Insurance for you and yours.
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