Health Insurance Coverage Issues

Health insurance is one of the most common types of insurance coverage. When you purchase a health insurance policy, you are purchasing coverage for a variety of medical events. Different policies are designed for people for different age groups and different medical issues. Although health care coverage can seem like a fairly straightforward process, there are several general issues with health coverage and how insurance companies and policyholders interact.

Access

• Health insurance is being offered to fewer and fewer people in the United States. In an effort to cut costs, companies are denying coverage for an increasing number of conditions, including joint problems and obesity. At the same time, fewer businesses are offering health insurance to employees, and employees are less willing to seek out health insurance coverage for themselves.

Complexity

• Health insurance is one of the most complicated types of insurance in existence. A complex set of rules govern what types of hospitals and doctors many plans will even cover. There is also an additional set of rules on what conditions the plan will cover, then what treatments, then for how long, all based on multiple factors and often requiring detailed information from a variety of parties. Patients and family members, unfortunately, are rarely prepared to deal with these issues as well as a medical emergency.

Costs

• A number of costs are associated with health insurance, but one of the most common problems is the increase in costs based on risk. Classically, this problem means that the more you need coverage, the more it will cost. Premiums rise sharply with age and coverage for the elderly or those with permanent conditions can be too expensive to afford.

Preexisting Conditions

• Health insurance is intended only to cover events that have not yet happened. This means that insurance companies will not cover what they call preexisting conditions, or conditions that are already present when you apply for health insurance. This makes it very difficult to get coverage for certain long-term conditions.