Health Insurance Government Regulations

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, healthcare costs were approximated at $7,681 per person in 2008. Most Americans require occasional or regular checkups, doctor's office visits, lab work, prescriptions or hospitalizations; health insurance helps curb the costs associated with medical services. In March 2010, President Obama and Congress initiated the Affordable Care Act in an effort to regulate the health insurance industry, with laws intended to improve the quality and affordability of health coverage for all Americans.

Preventative Care

• All health plans initiated on or after September 23, 2010, are required to offer free preventative care and screenings. The types of services covered depend upon the insured's age, but includes blood pressure screening, diabetes screening, cholesterol tests, flu shots, routine vaccinations, childhood well-baby checkups, mammograms and colonoscopies. Each of these services is offered to age-eligible policyholders with no insurance copays, deductibles or co-insurance requirements.

Coverage for Medical Problems

• The government mandates that insurance companies cannot legally rescind health coverage for any person based on the development of a new medical condition. Insurance companies also cannot legally deny health coverage to any child based on a preexisting condition. This same benefit will be extended to all adults beginning in 2014. Policyholders with unpaid or denied claims are entitled to a federal external review process that acts as an appeal to an insurance company's coverage denial. Additionally, insurance companies cannot impose lifetime coverage limits on new policies beginning on or after September 23, 2010. Annual coverage limits are required to increase each year beginning at a minimum of $750,000 per year in 2010 and eventually becoming limitless by 2014.

Mandated Coverage

• Beginning in 2014, all Americans will be required to carry health insurance via Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, COBRA, group coverage or private health insurance plans. Those not in compliance will face steep tax penalties to curb the costs of providing care to noninsured patients. Citizens can choose private plans from new health insurance exchanges. Families and individuals that have an income of between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level will be eligible for healthcare premium tax credits to help offset some of the costs of the insurance.