Health Insurance Consumer Information

“Employers that offer good coverage by and large will pay the lion’s share of the premiums on your behalf,” says health insurance expert Karen Pollitz of Georgetown University. “You’re probably not going to find a better deal than that.”

Professor Pollitz was quoted in the June 22nd article “What to Do When Your Health Insurance Runs Out,” in The Washington Post, by Leah Ariniello.

Did you lose your job, or are you thinking about leaving your job or school in order to go out on your own? Ariniello’s Washington Post article gives lots of health insurance tips for individuals who have to buy their own policies.

Our consumer guides, cited in the article, will help you figure out whether you’re eligible for financial help in your state, and what other protections you have in the individual health insurance market.

Read our consumer guides to the protections you have and lack when you are buying insurance in your state.

Two recent stories in the New York Times featured the healthinsuranceinfo.net website and its free consumer guides. Whether you are self-employed or facing retirement, these articles can provide some advice and perspective on your situation and stories of others in your situation.

Before Medicare, Sticker Shock and Rejection by Fred Brock, April 21, 2008. Pointing out that only a third of employers now offer retiree health benefits, the article discusses some of the technical aspects of getting health insurance if you retire before you are eligible for Medicare and can’t afford COBRA rates for your employer’s health insurance, covering topics like guaranteed issue, premiums and deductibles, some of the ins and outs of COBRA and HIPAA, and high-risk pools.

The article states: “If you have no pre-existing medical conditions (however that is defined by your prospective insurance company), buying individual insurance should not be hard in a state without guaranteed-issue laws.” healthinsuranceinfo.net provides current information on state insurance rules.”

Finding Health Insurance If You Are Self-Employed by Marci Alboher, March 27, 2008. “These [state-by-state consumer guide] primers are comprehensive and frequently updated, and they are a great place to start, especially if you have been wondering about the meaning of jargon that peppers insurance providers’ descriptions of their offerings,” according to Alboher and one of her subjects, Jennifer Jaff.

Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute has updated its Consumer Guide to Getting and Keeping Health Insurance in Arizona as of March 2008.

The guide contains important consumer information regarding state-based protections and health insurance policy options, including HealthCare Group of Arizona, KidsCare, and the Well Woman HealthCheck Program.

Coverage rights and limitations for COBRA, Medicaid and the Federal Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) are also outlined.

Arizona, like other states, offers its own protections for individuals who are buying private individual health insurance, and these protections (and the limitations on them) are well-explained in this guide.

Get your free copy now, in downloadable PDF format, or skim the guide online: healthinsuranceinfo.net/getinsured/arizona

Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute has just released its latest FREE guide for consumers in the market for health insurance: Consumer Guide to Getting and Keeping Health Insurance in Massachusetts.

This guide includes important NEW information for Massachusetts residents related to recent changes in the law. Beginning July 1, 2007, all Massachusetts residents must obtain and maintain health insurance. Individuals who cannot show proof of health insurance coverage will lose their personal income tax exemption and face significant tax fines.

Consumers, legislators, researchers, policy experts and social workers will all find this 49-page guide to the protections consumers have, and lack, as they seek health care coverage, of use. Download the guide now.

The Health Insurance Consumer Guides for Tennessee and West Virginia have been recently updated and posted to our website, where you can get them for no charge.

Click on the link below to go to the appropriate guide:

TENNESSEE

WEST VIRGINIA

Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute has released updated Consumer Guides for South Carolina and Nevada.

Health insurance consumers, legislators, social workers and advocates use these guides for clear, comprehensive information on the rights that consumers have, and lack, as they enter the health insurance market in their state.

These guides are available in their entirety, for free, on this website in PDF format; see our copyright notice for reprinting and redistribution guidance.

• South Carolina Health Insurance Consumer Guide

• Nevada Health Insurance Consumer Guide

Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute has released updated Consumer Guides for Florida and Iowa, as of January 2007.

Health insurance consumers, legislators, social workers and advocates use these guides for clear, comprehensive information on the rights that consumers have, and lack, as they enter the health insurance market in their state.

These guides are available in their entirety, for free, on this website in PDF format; see our copyright notice for reprinting and redistribution guidance.

• Florida Health Insurance Consumer Guide

• Iowa Health Insurance Consumer Guide