Get Individual Health Insurance at Group Rates
Posted on 27. Oct, 2009 by Brockton Barton in Medical Insurance
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.
An individual plan is one purchased on the private market, not tied to workplace benefits. Although they are called “individual” plans, they can cover you, your spouse and your children. Other ways to buy health insurance when you’re between group health plans include “short-term” health insurance and “catastrophic” health insurance.
Insurance carriers may reject your application for individual coverage, if you have existing health problems, because they are medically underwritten. But keep in mind, some states require that insurance carriers offer you a policy, no matter what your prior conditions are. So do your homework before you let a carrier reject your desired policy application. Check the list of “Guaranteed Issue Laws”, published by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
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).
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.
Remember to do your homework, because in some states, the self-employed, sole proprietor can be eligible to buy health insurance as a “group of one” – even a home-based businessperson – just as long as 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.
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.
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