HIPAA
The 1996 HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) law protects health insurance coverage for workers that change their job or lose their job.
What are the benefits and costs of purchasing a HIPAA health insurance plan versus not? From what I have read, it looks like the main benefit of HIPAA plans is that there is no underwriting process, which means that the insurance company cannot exclude any pre-existing conditions from coverage.
On the cost side, the premiums for HIPPA individual insurance plans (also referred to as guaranteed issue plans) are noticeably higher than rates for non-HIPAA plans (where exclusions are permitted). For example, the same plan is $1,481 per month (without underwriting/without exclusions of pre-existing conditions) and $841 per month when insurance companies have the freedom to exclude pre-existing conditions.
Therefore if someone is in good health and has no pre-existing conditions, then the non-HIPAA plans seem to be the way to go because of the lower premium. Of course, to truly compare the two types of plan, one would have to go through the underwriting process (of a non-HIPAA plan) and read the small print and see if there any blanket exemption clauses.
Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of blanket exemption clauses (if any) in non-HIPAA plans?
Blanket exemption clauses aside, can anyone see any reasons why a healthy person (with no pre-existing conditions) would prefer a HIPAA plan to a Non-HIPAA plan?
What are the benefits and costs of purchasing a HIPAA health insurance plan versus not? From what I have read, it looks like the main benefit of HIPAA plans is that there is no underwriting process, which means that the insurance company cannot exclude any pre-existing conditions from coverage.
On the cost side, the premiums for HIPPA individual insurance plans (also referred to as guaranteed issue plans) are noticeably higher than rates for non-HIPAA plans (where exclusions are permitted). For example, the same plan is $1,481 per month (without underwriting/without exclusions of pre-existing conditions) and $841 per month when insurance companies have the freedom to exclude pre-existing conditions.
Therefore if someone is in good health and has no pre-existing conditions, then the non-HIPAA plans seem to be the way to go because of the lower premium. Of course, to truly compare the two types of plan, one would have to go through the underwriting process (of a non-HIPAA plan) and read the small print and see if there any blanket exemption clauses.
Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of blanket exemption clauses (if any) in non-HIPAA plans?
Blanket exemption clauses aside, can anyone see any reasons why a healthy person (with no pre-existing conditions) would prefer a HIPAA plan to a Non-HIPAA plan?