When you're buying health insurance as part of a group plan at work, it's normally at lower rates on premiums. If you're self-employed or between jobs, a group health plan may not be an option. If you start another job which does not offer health insurance, or work as an independent consultant, you'll more often that not notice a sharp rate increase when you buy individual health insurance.
Individual health insurance plans are purchased directly from the insurance carrier by the individual, and do not offer benefits normally tied to a full-time workplace. However, individual plans can cover you and your family members. Keep in mind there are other ways to get health insurance when you're between group health plans, including "short-term" and "catastrophic" health insurance plans.
Individual plans are "medically underwritten", which means the insurer may reject your application, if you have existing health problems. Some states don't allow this practice and require that insurance carriers offer you a policy, no matter what your medical condition. A list of "Guaranteed Issue Laws" has been published by the Kaiser Family Foundation, so do your homework before you let a carrier reject your desired policy application, or make exclusions to it.
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.
Keep in mind, if you go without insurance for 63 days or more, a time period set by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), you'll lose your rights to coverage of pre-existing conditions.
If you're uninsured and have a "pre-existing condition", you may feel like a reject from the health insurance market. It may seem to be impossible or unaffordable. But there are practical ways you may be in a position to manage 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.
If the state in which you live does not offer these "group of one" insurance policies, you may still qualify for a group rate if you own a business and have at least one partner or employee. Is your spouse helping you with your home-based business? Then you qualify as a two-person business, and are eligible for a group rate and a group policy.
If you're moving on from full-time employment with an existing group health plan, ask the employer's insurer to convert your policy to an individual health insurance plan. Your rate will be higher than your employer's group plan, but that way you can secure a health coverage plan. This is extremely important if you have existing medical conditions. Also check to see if your spouse has a group plan at work, and find out if they can add you onto it.
Author Resource:
Learn more about Guaranteed Issue Health Insurance . Stop by Brockton Barton's site where you can find out all aboutindividual and group health coverage to suit your family's needs.
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