Can You Decline Your Employer's Insurance & Obtain Your Own Policy?

One of the main reasons that many people seek full-time employment is that an employer will provide them with health care coverage at an affordable rate. While a person can purchase a policy on his own, coverage provided through an employer is generally far more affordable. However, an employee is never required to purchase an employer's coverage. He can opt out of the coverage and be covered by another policy, or receive no policy at all.

Employer-Sponsored Coverage

• Generally, the cost of purchasing a health insurance policy through an employer is significantly cheaper than purchasing it directly from an insurance company as an individual. This is true for two reasons. First, an employer will generally be willing to pay a portion of a person's health insurance premiums. Secondly, insurance companies will usually be far more willing to offer low-cost plans to a group of employees than to a single person.

Private Insurance

• Sometimes, a person may not like the coverage offered by her insurer's health care provider. For example, the plan may not allow her to see the doctors that she wishes to see, or provide her the coverage for procedures that she wishes to receive. In this case, the person may wish to not be covered by the employer's plan and be covered by another policy.

Opting Out of Coverage

• Be aware that many employers only allow people to join health plans at specific times. For example, an employer may add employees to its health care plan once every three months. If this is the case, a person who opts out of an employer's plan may be forbidden from joining the plan for a period of time. This can create problems if the person is unable to purchase his own coverage.

Considerations

• An employer cannot mandate that a person accept health care coverage from an employer. When a person accepts a job, the employer is not allowed to make the acceptance of the health care benefits mandatory. This would violate a law that forbids employers from mandating that a person purchase services or products from them as a condition of employment.