When was the last time you asked yourself if individual health insurance plans would benefit you? If you are like most people, the answer is never. The reason why is because many people just don’t buy individual health insurance plans. It’s just not an option for them because they either can’t afford it or think that it’s not necessary.
Group plans tend to offer employees 1 choices only. These are usually limited-term plans chosen by the company as part of a package deal.
However, with individual health insurance policies, employees usually go straight to the individual insurance market and shop around through the government-sponsored public exchanges or directly with the health insurance companies. They often look at cost, co-payments (deductibles) and monthly premium payments. They then decide if they want to participate in the program. If they do, they must commit to a six-month enrollment period in which they are allowed to see any doctor they want for a certain amount of time.
In exchange for this flexibility, individual health plans often come with limited benefits and other constraints. Typically, you won’t be able to enroll your entire family under a plan. Most won’t cover pre-existing medical conditions, and the few that do generally have a very high deductible. One of the biggest problems with individual health plans is that they have one of two forms of payment: coinsurance or a co-pay.
The Affordable Care Act, or better known as the care act, was passed by Congress and implemented in 2014. It has been a controversial topic ever since it was introduced, primarily due to its lack of a mandated employer mandate. Employers don’t have to offer coverage, and many who do can raise their deductibles and payments to their employees as an incentive to stay with the company. For this reason, the individual health insurance coverage plans have gained much needed attention from employers and government officials alike.
The goal of the new healthcare reform law is to provide an Affordable Care Act that doesn’t favor one group over another. The law does try to level the playing field between insurance companies and individuals, but doesn’t attempt to remove insurance companies entirely from the equation. Individual health insurance plans can be purchased privately by anyone who can afford a group coverage plan. This is a great choice for many people, since there are no restrictions involved.
Most employers offer some type of group health insurance plans, but they may not offer individual coverage. When an employee joins a company he or she will be offered an individual health insurance plan, regardless of whether or not they’re offered group coverage. This makes it easier for most people to purchase their own individual health insurance plans because they don’t need to worry about whether or not they’ll be able to find coverage, and there’s usually no penalty for skipping a policy. If you decide that you’d like to purchase a group medical coverage plan, you can often purchase it right at your place of employment. This is a good option for several reasons, including the fact that you’ll have the same benefits as everyone in your group, and there’s usually no penalty to switching teams.
Individual medical coverage plans are available in many different forms. There are silver plans that cover basic hospitalization and doctor visits, and then there are platinum plans that cover everything from dental care to vision care. There are even “federally regulated” plans available in some states. These plans are usually not required to meet any federal standards, so they’re not as inclusive as the other plans, but they are still fairly decent.
