Major rules on health care reform became effective October 23, 2010. And almost daily I am asked - will it now be easier and cheaper for me to purchase health insurance? The answers to those questions are - probably not, and No. At least not yet.
The rules for purchasing individual health insurance coverage won't change for most of us until 2014 when all policies will be guarantee issue - translation - you can't be denied for health reasons. Small group plans (50 and under in FL) already operate that way. Until then, if you have a medical issue, you can still be denied coverage on that condition - or turned down entirely.
The guaranteed issue rule already applies to children under the age of 19 - but, fearing a tidal wave of young applicants who were sick, the carriers responded by refusing to issue any further policies on children only. However, if a child applies with a parent, they will be accepted without problem in most cases.
As for cost - no one seems able to really get a handle on this and rising costs remain largely unchanged.
