The Benefits Of An Individual Health Insurance Plan In The State Of Florida

Florida, like most states, affords limited guarantees to anyone who wishes to purchase individual health insurance and, despite the fact that your ability to purchase medical insurance is dependent to some extent upon your present state of health, there are situations where health insurers in Florida must offer you insurance.

Generally, health insurance companies are allowed to ask questions about your past medical history and to refuse you insurance if you have a current medical problem or have a history of particular conditions. However, more commonly, insurance companies will offer to cover you, but they will either exclude specific conditions from your insurance plan or increase your premium and cover such conditions. In Florida however there is an exception to this rule in the case of a history of breast cancer as long as you have finished a course of breast cancer treatment at least two years prior to your present request for cover. In cases where this applies insurance companies are not allowed to refuse to insure you.

As long as you have been insured under a group insurance plan for a period of at least three months and later lose that cover then, according to Florida law, you have the right to purchase a conversion policy and an insurer must offer you the choice of at least two plans. Also, companies must not impose any new pre-existing condition exclusion. However, they can enforce such an exclusion when you have not completed any previous qualifying period.

Where you do not qualify for a conversion plan but are nevertheless HIPAA eligible then once again an insurer cannot refuse to insure you and must once again offer you a choice of at least two plans. HIPAA eligibility means that have had at least 18 months of continuous and creditable coverage (the last day of which has to have been under a group insurance policy) and have used up any eligible COBRA or continuation coverage. Furthermore, you cannot currently have health insurance (or be insured under a group policy that is about to expire) and cannot be eligible for a further group insurance policy or for either Medicaid or Medicare. An application for insurance coverage on the basis of HIPAA eligibility needs to be completed within 63 days of losing your previous coverage.

If an insurance company or HMO can no longer give you cover, because they have for instance ceased trading or you have moved outside of their service area, then other insurance companies are required to offer to provide you with health insurance coverage regardless of your state of health.

Newborn children, adopted children and children who are placed for adoption have to be covered under a parent's individual health insurance policy for a period of 31 day from the date of birth, adoption or placement.

In Florida a disabled child will remain covered where dependent coverage has been in issue past the age when such cover would usually be terminated, provided the child is not able to support himself or herself because of either mental or physicall disability and is largely dependent upon the policyholder for support.

The cover given by an individual health insurance policy in Florida will depend to a large degree upon the policy that is purchased but it is a requirement of Florida law that all plans give cover for a number of benefits such as diabetes treatment, childhood immunizations and mammograms. The full list of required benefits is updated occasionally and a current list can be obtained from the Florida Department of Financial Services.

MedicalHealthInsuranceToday.com provides information on low cost health care insurance and on getting free online individual health insurance quotes for Florida