Florida Health Insurance
Florida health insurance law may make it difficult to find good health insurance if your employer doesn’t already cover you and your family. This is in part to the high percentage of people in this state who are retired or nearing the retirement age. However, there are some Florida health insurance laws that can help you. It’s important that you know your rights in regards to these state specific policies and laws.
Florida Health Insurance Policies and Laws
Florida health insurance companies can deny health insurance to anyone they want, based on preexisting conditions. While this state is not the fairest in terms of ensuring their residents are covered there are some ways to ensure you get the coverage you need.
In general, Florida health insurance is simply limiting. Although they do have special programs and laws pertaining to children, it is difficult to get maternity care. If rejected, your options can be a bit limited so it’s important that you apply ‘correctly’ to avoid being rejected.
In addition, most Florida health insurance plans have very strict rules about weight, past cancer survival, and diabetes. If you’ve had coverage in the past, though, and have recently lost it, you do have options.
Florida Health Insurance Eligibility
In Florida, you are guaranteed to find individual health insurance if:
- You’ve had a group plan in the past and no longer qualify, but have exhausted all Florida COBRA options.
- You have had group insurance coverage for at least 18 months and have not had a break in coverage for more than 63 days.
- You previously had health insurance in Florida, but you lost it because you moved to a Florida county where the same plan is not offered or your Florida health insurance company withdrew coverage for your county.
The transition from group to individual insurance in Florida is called a conversion plan. These health insurance plans cannot completely exclude you, no matter what preexisting conditions you may have. In the Sunshine State, having coverage in the past can help you get it in the future.
Getting Health Insurance in Florida if You’ve Been Turned Down
One of the most recently passed laws in Florida can help the “uninsurable” find Florida health insurance.
This legalization of “bare bones” policies in Florida is in response to the high percentage (21%) of Florida residents without coverage at all. One of the problems was that in Florida, there are many mandated benefits that must be included with any health insurance plan.
With the bare bones policies, those who were previously not qualified for health insurance can now at least buy some coverage, which will help them in the case of an emergency. Unlike typical policies, these Florida bare bones policies do not have to include mandated benefits like acupuncture. However, they do still have to include such things like office visits, surgery, and preventative services.
If you want to learn more about Florida health insurance plans that can help you, even if you’ve been denied in the past, check out the following organizations: