HIPAA Rights Concerning Group & Individual Medical Insurance Plans
Filed under: Group Insurance, Medical Insurance
What should anyone know about their rights regarding individual health insurance plans? The most important aspect of health insurance is knowing your rights when you are looking into your individual medical insurance coverage. The United States Government has scripted many laws regarding individual health insurance plans, but one of the most important of these laws is HIPAA.
HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This is a law that covers the rights of individuals belonging to any group health insurance plan and mandates that if someone belongs to a group-based individual health insurance plan, then that person is allowed to purchase individual medical insurance plans, even after their membership in the group ends.
As a group plan may come from an employer or an association that you are a member of, it is important to know what you can and cannot do concerning the coverage. This particular right is important as it insures that you will continue to have the individual medical insurance that you and your family need. You are not required to continue your existing individual health insurance plans if you choose not to. Nevertheless, the law mandates that you can if you should choose to do so.
These laws also cover the privacy of your health information. This is very important as your health information and health care records are private and sensitive. This information should only be available to qualified health care professionals that you allow to have access, or anyone else you give permission to in writing.
The HIPAA law also deals with the subject of pre-existing conditions. Without this protection, some people would be afraid to leave their jobs if they have an illness. This law protects those individuals allowing them to continue their medical treatments even after changing their individual health insurance plans. These are just some of the rights under the HIPAA law regarding group and individual insurance plans so make sure you explore them all before making any decisions.
Group VS Individual Medical Insurance Plans
Filed under: Group Insurance, Medical Insurance
There are many types of medical health insurance on the market today. This results from a number of factors. There is greater competition in a free market economy; this means that some companies will be able to offer services at lower costs saving you money. There may be others that offer premiums or “improved services,” but at a higher cost overall; the insured winds up paying for the privilege of this extra or improved coverage.
Individual medical insurance is one of the most important expenses a person can have and almost no one can afford the cost of medical care on their own. This alone is reason enough to want this type of insurance. Just like any other insurance policy, the cost or risk of expense is spread over a greater number of individual medical insurance premiums, which is the monthly payment that you agree to in the medical health insurance contract.
The two major types of medical health insurance are the group health insurance plans and individual health insurance plans. The group health insurance plan is one in which a large number of individuals belong to an association, a labor union or work for the same employer. This group of people purchases insurance “together,” which ultimately allows for an overall lower cost to all involved. This is the same concept as “buying in bulk” from your grocery store.
There are limitations, of course and the group from which the plan is purchased can explain them in full. While these plans sometimes are considered group plans, they are still individual medical insurance plans. The benefit of purchasing them this way is the overall purchasing power of the group at a discount. You should be familiar with these types when you shop for any type of individual medical insurance plan.