Private Insurance

• Obtaining private health insurance while unemployed is no different than obtaining it while employed for a company that may not offer it or offers a policy that fails to meet your needs. Private coverage applicants typically shop around at various insurance companies looking for the best coverage for the least amount of money. Once they choose the company they want to get private insurance through, they begin the application process.
  
  

Application

• Health insurance applications for private individuals require information including the applicant's age, health conditions and lifestyle. For example, the application will ask the applicant to check mark any illnesses, surgeries or conditions the applicant has or has been diagnosed with in the past few years. Conditions such as asthma, heart issues, diabetes and cancer are typical things asked about. The application will also ask about lifestyle habits such as smoking, wearing seat belts and hobbies.
  
  Most applications require the applicant to sign a medical release authorization allowing the insurance company to gain access to the applicant's past medical records to see if the information you provided on the application matches what medical records indicate. The insurance company doesn't automatically check records, but requires the authorization in case something needs to be checked.
  
  

Physical

• Insurance companies have the right to require medical questions as well as a physical as part of the private policy process. In some cases, the physical is nothing more than a blood test. In other cases, it is a complete physical at a doctor the insurance company chooses. The policy may be conditionally written pending the outcome of the physical or the company may opt not to write it until results are in.
  
  

Pre-Existing Conditions

• Insurance companies deal with pre-existing conditions by covering them, refusing to cover the applicant at all, or placing a wait limit on the pre-existing condition. For example, consider a person is unmeployed and applying for health insurance. He marks yes on the past tumor question due to a benign tumor removed last year. If the insurance company chooses to insure him, it will place a waiting period on the policy, denoting how long the person will have to wait to have any future tumor covered. The policy will cover all other medical and health issues, however, if a tumor is discovered before the waiting period has passed, the company will not pay for the diagnosis or treatment of the tumor. If there is a specific waiting period, the tumor is covered just like any other condition after the waiting period has passed.
  
  In July 2010 the federal health care reform law introduced a pre-existing condition insurance plan for those who couldn't get private plans due to pre-existing health conditions. States choose whether to implement their own plan or go with the federal plan. If you are uninsured for the past six months and have a pre-existing condition, you may be eligible for your state's plan provided you are a resident. Annual deductibles for the plans range from $1,000 to $3,000 with a 15 percent co-pay. It includes a drug prescription plan and premiums vary by state and your age.
  
  

Cost

• Insurance companies charge premiums based on risk. For individual plans, the premium depends on the applicant's health on the application date. For example, a healthy 25-year-old who had no surgeries, is not overweight and does not smoke will pay a lower premium than an overweight, 50-year-old who smokes two packs a day. The insurance company may offer both identical coverage, but because the older, overweight man is at a greater risk for claims, he will be charged more. The company also can refuse to cover the overweight, older applicant. However, under federal health care reform provisions that begin in 2014, an insurer cannot refuse to cover applicants, as long as he applies during the enrollment period.
  
  

COBRA

• If your are laid off or leave your job, you are legally entitled to maintain the same health insurance coverage you had at work for up to 18 months through COBRA. The exceptions are if your employer has fewer than 20 employees or if you were terminated due to job gross misconduct. If you elect to go through COBRA, you must pay the entire premium including the company's portion when you were employed. Your former company is required by law to notify you of your COBRA rights, set it up and handle it for you if you elect to use the option.