Individual Health Insurance

You may be working with a company that does not offer health insurance plan or you may be a self-employed. Under these circumstances you have to purchase a health insurance quote from an insurance agent. Regulations set for individual health insurance policy are different from those applicable for job-based (group insurance) insurance plans. You have the option to choose from fee-for-service plan, HMO plan and PPO plan. Like other insurance policies individual health insurance policies also have their ‘haves’ and ‘haves not’. Following is the illustration on this

• Guarantee for issue of individual health plan: Many states have the provision to turn down individual’s application for health plan on account of individual’s health condition.
• Renewal of policy: Renewal of your health insurance plan can not be denied even if you fall sick.
• Different states have different limits on pre-existing condition exclusions. It depends on the state where you are residing. Insurance companies may put an exclusion rider on your policy which results in total elimination of coverage for full policy life for pre-existing conditions.
• Requirements of portability defers from state to state. You may not be provided with prior coverage credit and have to wait for full period of pre-existing condition exclusion.
• COBRA coverage is not applicable for individual health insurance plans.