Taking a look at individual health insurance might become necessary under certain conditions. It is important to know up front that an individual health policy is a bit different than a traditional group health plan or policy that one gets when one works for an employer who offers health insurance as a benefit. Group plans have the strength found in numbers and because of that are usually cheaper than individual plans.
Their are several instances when individual plans might be the only health insurance available to a person. Normally, most instances arise when a person leaves a job in the group health insurance benefit that was at that job. Consequently, it could become necessary to find an individual plan in the marketplace and pay for it on one's own. Individual plans also cover families, by the way.
Also, don't forget that insurers who offer individual health insurance plans are usually under no obligation to extend a plan to anybody who asks for it. Medical underwriting rules observed by many insurers will usually dictate just who and insurer will cover and who it won't, which can come as an unpleasant surprise in some circumstances.
In some unfortunate cases, people seeking an individual health insurance plan end up rejected by the insurer because of pre-existing medical conditions. Or, the insurer will offer a plan that excludes any sort of coverage related to the ill effects of that specified medical condition. There are some states, though, that have "guaranteed issue" laws on the books, meaning that an insurer must extend a policy regardless of condition.
On average, individual plans will cost more than what a person can obtain under a group plan. Under individual policies, insurers assess what the likely medical costs will be in relation to the person or persons being covered in the individual plan. This is one reason why a person who has a few medical issues or is somewhat older might be asked to pay more in terms of policy premiums.
In some states, if you are running a business as a sole proprietor or are just self-employed you may be eligible to purchase insurance as what the state refers to as a "group of one." There are other ways to qualify for a group rate, too, so spend a bit of time on the Internet looking for in insurer that may be able to offer such a rate for what is really an individual health insurance policy.
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Learn more about Health Insurance . Stop by Samantha Malone's site where you can find out all about individual health care and what it can do for you.
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