As one of the most visited health insurance websites in the United States, we receive hundreds of inquiries from consumers asking for advice and answers to their questions about medical insurance. Pursuant of our mission to educate consumers about their insurance options, we do our best to respond to every inquiry. Many of these inquiries are personal in nature, so we take care to respond privately to the individual. Many of the questions, however, are common to a large number of consumers so we have compiled them into this resource section we’ve deemed Health Insurance Coverage.

Many of the questions that we receive deal with actual medical insurance coverage, what an insurance policy will and will not cover. Health insurance policies can be long and complicated documents with confusing language and most of us do not take the time to read them fully before signing. With a growing number of treatment options both in the experimental and alternative areas, there is more reason than ever to be confused about what exactly your policy does cover.

The other largest source of questions is about what happens when your coverage under an individual, group or short term plan is coming to an end. State and federal regulations can be confusing, but in most cases are designed to help you maintain coverage without interruption, but not always at an affordable cost. This section contains questions about COBRA benefits, guaranteed issue HIPAA regulations, changing medical insurance plans, losing group coverage, relocating to new state, losing dependent eligibility and more.

The high cost of health insurance makes it inaccessible to many Americans. Citizenship and naturalization laws add another level of complexity to the matter. Unfortunately, too many people don’t start looking for medical insurance until they need it. This often means navigating rules and regulations pertaining to pre-existing conditions which can prohibit someone from getting immediate coverage. An individual’s current health condition can also trap them in their current policy with ever increasing premiums. This section aims to address some of the these issues.

Understanding federal and state insurance regulations and how they affect your rights to obtain and keep your medical insurance is important. Although federal regulations apply equally to everyone, state regulations vary from one state to another. Final determination of any of these matters should be taken up with your state’s department of insurance, which can be found by visiting your state in our state health insurance section.

Standard individual and group plans do not meet the needs of everyone. There are circumstances where you only need insurance for a short period of time. Many individuals and families do not have access to group health insurance and cannot afford family policies. There are many federal and state-sponsored programs to those low-income families obtain some type of health care for themselves or their children. This section looks at some of the other medical insurance options available.