Consumer News for Health Insurance

Across the United States, health insurance has become the subject of a national conversation. Issues include the number of uninsured families; the effects of illegal immigration on health care costs; the trend of companies towards dropping employee health coverage due to rapidly rising rates; health coverage for our aging population: and, always, the rapidly escalating costs for health care and health insurance.

As Government, business and the healthcare industry tackle these burgeoning problems, consumers are being left with fewer and fewer choices. On one hand, there are people whose employers still provide reasonable levels of health coverage to employees and their families. On the other end of the spectrum, the very poorest amongst us are often covered by State and Federal healthcare programs stemming from Medicare or Medicaid.

In the middle, consumers who must purchase their health insurance through independent, commercial sources are being taken advantage of in the worst possible ways. Specifically, from the moment a health insurance provider invokes a requirement for medical underwriting, the consumer has lost all leverage in the transaction. From that point on, the insurance provider will offer reasonably priced coverage only to those individuals who are in the best possible health. For individuals with mild medical issues, they can expect outrageous premiums in order to acquire even minimum levels of coverage. And, for those with chronic or serious health problems, coverage will simply be denied.

Health Insurance Guides: News & Notes will cover these issues, as well as the latest trends in healthcare coverage, as our national debate continues.

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For health insurance information pertinent to your home state, visit one of our Health Insurance Guides:

Pacific Coast region: California, Oregon, Washington;

Southwest region: Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Arkansas;

Gulf Coast region: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida;

Great Plains region: Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana;

Great Lakes region: Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania;

South Atlantic region: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia;

Eastern Seaboard region: Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut;

Mid-South region: Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia;

Rocky Mountain region: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota;

New England region: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine;

Non-CONUS region: Hawaii, Alaska.