Arkansas Individual Health Insurance
Health insurance is an indispensable precaution that should not be overlooked by anyone, regardless of age or family status. Although it may be a little more costly than group coverage, Arkansas individual health insurance is a perfect solution for those who lack any other coverage. Since you are considering private health insurance in Arkansas, you may want to know more about the that state?s laws regulating individual policies.
Eligibility: How Am I Evaluated?
The state of Arkansas has no regulations regarding how health insurance applicants are evaluated and leaves the decision up to each individual insurer. 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 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 on the insurer.
In accordance with HIPPA Group-to-Individual Portability Coverage regulations, Arkansas guarantees coverage under the Arkansas Comprehensive Health Insurance Pool for HIPPA eligible consumers who have been turned down by private insurers.
Arizona Guaranteed Benefits & Pre-Existing Conditions
Arkansas law does not require insurers to carry standardized policies for consumers to choose from, but they do require the coverage of certain benefits by all insurers under all plans. These benefits include services such as post-delivery hospital stays for new moms and breast reconstruction services after a mastectomy.
In Arkansas, an insurer can protect themselves from a pre-existing condition in one of two ways. First, they can look for pre-existing conditions in your medical history and add them to your elimination rider before your policy takes effect. This can exclude the condition from the policy indefinitely. Secondly, they may also look back into your health history for up to five years and exclude any conditions that you did or should have received treatment for from your policy for an unregulated amount of time. The only exception to this is conditions that affect the following: hernia, disorder of the reproductive organs, varicose veins, adenoids, appendix, and tonsils. These can only be excluded from your policy for up to 6 months.
Arkansas Individual Health Insurance Premiums
What you are charged for a private Arkansas individual health insurance policy is up to the insurer. Factors that many insurers take into consideration include age, health status, plan type, and family size. Insurers can use any of these factors to quote you a higher premium rate. There are no limits under Arkansas law on how much you can be charged for a policy and you may encounter premium increases upon renewal due to any of these factors as well.
Finally, your insurance policy cannot be cancelled by your insurer because of declining health or the amount of claims made against the policy. You are guaranteed the opportunity to renew your policy, no matter what your health status may be at the time. However, you must also be willing to accept any premium increases imposed by the insurer to make up for these increased risk factors.