As important as they are, the federal and state health insurance reforms are limited.  Therefore, you also should understand how the laws do not protect you.

• If you change jobs, you usually cannot take your old health benefits with you. Except when you exercise your federal COBRA rights, you are not entitled to take your actual group health coverage with you when you leave a job. Your new health plan may not cover all of the benefits or the same doctors that your old plan did.
• If you are buying individual health insurance as a HIPAA eligible individual, the law the law does not limit what you can be charged for that individual health policy. You can be charged substantially higher premiums because of your health status, age, gender, and other characteristics.
• If you are not HIPAA eligible, individual health insurers in Hawaii are free to turn you down because of your health status and other factors. If you are offered an individual health insurance policy, you may have to satisfy a new pre-existing condition exclusion period. In addition, the law does not limit what you can be charged for individual health policy. You can be charged substantially higher premiums because of your health status, age, gender, and other characteristics.
• If you are a small employer buying a group health plan, there are no limits on how much your premiums can vary.