Bye-Bye Affordable Health Insurance? Not Any More!

Healthcare should be a universal right given to every human. Shockingly, as many as 10,700 people have their insurance coverage dropped every year due to illness or even an unintentional mistake on their insurance application, according to the federal government.
That's too many Americans who lost affordable health insurance right when they needed it most or for a trivial reason!

Some of those individuals were required to reimburse their insurance companies for medical expenses paid before the mistake was discovered. Just think: a $500 medical bill just because you forgot to mention a visit to a chiropractor five years ago on your insurance application!

As ludicrous as it sounds, insurance companies were actually enforcing these rules and getting away with it until healthcare reform became a reality this year. One of the primary purposes of healthcare reform was to reign in unscrupulous practices by insurance companies that cost their members unnecessarily. At the top of the list was the arbitrary rescinding of affordable health insurance for many Americans, leaving them without the ability to pay for adequate medical care.

About the Provision

This was one of the first provisions to go into healthcare reform, taking effect on September 23 of this year. Now, insurance companies are no longer able to cancel insurance coverage due to illness or an honest mistake on an insurance application. Consumers can rest assured that if their insurance company is considering the cancellation of their policies, they will receive ample notice and the ability to appeal the decision before losing affordable health insurance completely.

Some of the details of the provision include:

• The provision applies to all types of affordable health insurance, whether it is provided by an employer or purchased through a private exchange. No matter where you get your insurance from, you will be able to keep it for as long as you want.

• It will apply to all plan years that begin after September 23, 2010. This means that if your current health insurance doesn't renew until 2011, the provision won't kick into effect until your renewal date. Most affordable health insurance plans work on the calendar year, but there are exceptions. If you are unsure about what your plan year might be, contact your plan administrator.

• This provision does not apply to deliberately falsified information. If you lie on your insurance application and your insurance company finds out about it, you can still be left without affordable health insurance. Plans can also be cancelled if you don't pay your premiums on time.

• If your insurance company plans to rescind your coverage, it must give you 30-days notice before doing so. During that time, you can appeal the decision or shop around for a different insurance plan.

Affordable health insurance is a valuable commodity today, ensuring you always have access to high quality health care when you need it. Thanks to healthcare reform, you will no longer have to worry about suddenly losing your health insurance due to an administrative error or a newly diagnosed illness. Today, consumers have peace of mind in knowing their affordable health insurance will protect them no matter what the future holds.

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