Ohio Individual Health Insurance

Health insurance is an indispensable safeguard that every person and every family should consider. If you don't get group health insurance through your employer, then you should look into purchasing Ohio individual health insurance from a private insurer. As an Ohio resident, you should educate yourself on the state laws and regulations that affect these individual health insurance plans.

Eligibility: How Am I Evaluated?

First, Ohio individual health insurance applications are reviewed based on the criteria set forth by the health insurance provider. Most insurers use factors such as health status, age, and lifestyle habits to establish whether to approve a health insurance applicant. Under Ohio law, insurers must only guarantee issue policies during open enrollment periods. There are 2 plans offered during this time: a basic and a standard plan. In compliance with HIPPA Group-to-Individual Portability Coverage regulations, insurers must also offer these plans to HIPPA eligible consumers.

Ohio Guaranteed Benefits & Pre-Existing Conditions

What your policy covers will depend on which plan you choose to buy. Insurers are allowed to tailor their plans as they see fit 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 Ohio law. These benefits include things such as diabetes treatments and post-delivery hospital stays.

In Ohio, 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 policy's 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 six months and exclude from your policy any conditions that you did or should have received treatment for, for up to the first 12 months of your policy.

Ohio Individual Health Insurance Premiums

When it comes to your initial premium, an insurer can basically charge you whatever they want unless your policy was guaranteed issue. Factors that they usually take into consideration include your health status, age, plan type, certain lifestyle habits, and number of people to be covered under the policy. There is no limit to what you can be charged by the insurer for the policy.

Finally, your Ohio individual health insurance policy can not be cancelled by your insurer when it is time for you to renew. Ohio health insurance policies are guaranteed renewal, so that you have the choice of whether or not to continue with your policy regardless of your health or age status. However, you must also be willing to pay the new premium imposed by your insurer.