Alaska Individual Health Insurance
The absence of appropriate health coverage raises the potential risk of illness and its effect on a family's personal finances. For those considering private health insurance, the options are abundant, as there are often literally hundreds of plans to choose from. Since you are considering Alaska individual health insurance, you may want to know more about the Alaska laws regulating individual policies.
Eligibility: How Am I Evaluated?
The state of Alaska has no regulations regarding how health insurance applicants are evaluated and leaves the decision up to each individual insurer. Typically, most insurers choose to use popular factors, such as health status and age, when determining whether or not to approve or deny an applicant for a private Alaska individual health insurance policy. There also are no laws or regulations on why an applicant can be turned down by an insurer. You can basically be denied for any reason and the decision is up to the sole discretion of the insurer.
The Alaska state law does not require health insurers to provide guaranteed issue coverage for any type of insurance. In accordance with HIPPA Group-to-Individual Portability Coverage regulations, Alaska offers guaranteed issue of health insurance via Alaska Comprehensive Health Insurance Association (ACHIA), the state's high-risk health insurance pool, to HIPPA eligible consumers who have been unable to obtain a policy from a private provider.
Alaska Guaranteed Benefits & Pre-Existing Conditions
What your policy covers will depend on which plan you choose to buy. Insurers are allowed to design their health plans and offer the benefits that they want, for the most part. There are a few benefits that all insurers are required to cover for all customers under Alaska law. These benefits include coverage for medical services such as:
- Screening for breast, cervical, prostate and colorectal cancer
- Continuity of care for pregnant women
- Care for some diabetes-related conditions
- Hearing aids for children
The laws in Alaska allow health insurance providers to apply both an exclusionary period for pre-existing conditions and/or list them on an exclusion rider, which will exclude them from the policy permanently. Generally, the health insurers allow a 12-month exclusionary period for the pre-existing medical conditions. Insurers can look back in your medical history to determine what, if any, pre-existing conditions you may have. Pregnancy is also considered a pre-existing condition under many policies.
Premiums: How Much Will It Cost?
Premiums are determined at the discretion of the insurer and are usually based on individual factors, such as age, health status, and family size. Predominantly, your health status is used to determine the premium you pay. There is no dollar limit on how much you can be charged for your initial premium or renewal premiums. Your insurer retains the right to raise your insurance premiums at any point of time. Furthermore, Alaska health insurance plans are guaranteed renewable, that means, Alaska health insurance companies cannot cancel coverage because a policyholder becomes ill. The insurance companies cannot refuse you the option to renew your policy unless they have discontinued the policy type for all customers or have withdrawn from the individual market altogether.
For those individuals who cannot easily find health coverage, the Alaska Comprehensive Health Insurance Association (ACHIA) provides Alaska health insurance to residents denied private market coverage due to a medical condition.
Before you buy an Alaska health insurance policy, you must read the policy details very carefully. You need to know exactly what is and isn’t covered by your policy and how much you will pay in your premiums. Contacting a qualified broker or agent can give you can idea of your health plan coverage and its benefits.
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