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Learn: Health Insurance Articles
These articles, prepared by the writers and editors of the healthinsurance.org, will help you better understand health care and medical insurance issues.
Will you owe a penalty under Obamacare?
If, for whatever reason, you decide not to purchase coverage in 2014, you can use the calculator on this page to determine the size of the penalty you would pay. But here’s the good news: You may not even need to worry about a tax penalty.
Obamacare rebates: $1.1 billion back to consumers
The Affordable Care Act’s requirement that health insurance companies spend 80 percent of your premium dollars on actual health care – rather than marketing, administrative and CEO salaries – has returned $1,101,372,250 to 12.8 million American consumers this year.
Is it time to dump your health insurance plan?
The sad truth is that any number of factors can change with your health insurance coverage after you’ve enrolled, and you shouldn’t hesitate to consider a switch.
CO-OP health plans put patients’ interests first
Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans (CO-OPs) will be run by their customers and are designed to offer consumer-friendly, affordable health insurance options to individuals and small businesses.
How to buy health insurance
Buying health insurance can be complicated, but like a lot of things, it’s easier if you break the job into smaller tasks and work your way through them.
Healthier living through pet ownership?
It is easy to feel the modern-day joys our pets bring us, but researchers are also in agreement that there is compelling evidence these emotional connections actually translate to positive physical health benefits for us as well.
Health reform’s 10 essential benefits
The ACA specifies ten benefits be included in all health insurance plans sold on each state’s health insurance exchange. Any new plan sold to individuals or small groups must cover the essential benefits as of Jan. 1, 2014, even if the plan is not offered through an exchange.
How to keep your health insurance
when you move to another state
What happens to individual health insurance coverage when a policyholder moves to a new state? The answer depends on the carrier, and on each state.
Health insurance consolidation on the rise
This year, the AMA warned that health carrier market dominance is a threat to consumer choice, allowing plans “to give patients take-it-or-leave-it pricing.”
Reform promises end to deadly rescissions
Industry practices that result in health policy cancellations may soon come to an end, thanks to health reform regulations that prohibit rescissions except in clear cases of fraud.
Maternity health coverage long overdue
A 2009 study of individual health plans in the U.S. found nearly 90 percent of them don’t cover maternity care. For the millions who need the coverage, reform is long overdue.
Self-employed health insurance deduction
It’s important for the self-employed to know all the ways they can save a few dollars here and there. One obvious place to look is on their tax forms, but one look isn’t enough: federal deductions for health insurance change regularly, so keep up with code changes.
Women and health insurance
In years past – and until health reform’s provisions take effect in 2014 – women’s lack of access to affordable health insurance has been disappointing and sometimes, deadly.
Dental insurance vs. dental discount plans
Dental patients have two distinct coverage options: dental insurance and discount dental plans. Folks who’ve chosen either option tend to get more treatment and keep more teeth.
How a health savings account (HSA) works
A health savings account is a tax-advantaged savings account combined with a high-deductible health insurance policy to provide an investment and health coverage.
Health insurance and the LGBT community
Advocates have long sought legislative action to remove barriers to health insurance coverage for LGBT populations. And, in recent years, there have been signs of progress.
Health care and health coverage abroad
Looking for affordable medical care, by highly skilled physicians, and maybe a vacation to boot? Here’s an option to consider.
Support health reform
President Obama succeeding in passing an aggressive package of health insurance reforms that will make it easier for you to buy and keep health insurance.
Health care reform
The ACA’s reforms take huge steps toward removing obstacles to quality, low-cost health insurance for millions of Americans.
Self-employed health insurance
The self-employed face a set of unique challenges in finding and keeping health insurance. We’ve provided answers for a few of the most commonly asked questions.
Lower your health care costs
“Why are my health insurance costs going up at a rate that is so much higher than inflation?” Experts say there are no easy answers, but there are straightforward explanations.
Private health insurance
Private health insurance continues to dominate the U.S. health care landscape. The majority of Americans under 65 continue to get their health care from private insurers.
Health insurance companies
Before you start seeking health insurance quotes, it’s prudent to take a look at the health insurance companies and their potential service to you as a consumer.
Health insurance scams
The recently passed health reform law was created to protect consumers, but ironically, scam artists are using confusion about the law to prey on consumers.
Reducing the number of uninsured
For many Americans, getting off the rolls of the uninsured is a simple matter of getting information about coverage that’s already available to them.
Individual health insurance
If you are self employed, or if your employer does not offer health insurance, you’ll likely turn to the private market to purchase an individual health insurance plan.
Group health insurance
Of Americans who have health coverage, the vast majority secure that coverage through group health insurance, and then, typically, through an employer-sponsored health plan.
Student health insurance
Before college starts, students and their families need to ensure that their health coverage will continue uninterrupted – and that it will earn more than a passing grade.
Short term health insurance
Short-term health insurance policies provide coverage for consumers who need one to six months of coverage as a safety net.
COBRA health insurance
COBRA allows the newly unemployed to extend the health coverage they had with their employer while they seek new coverage, but COBRA may not be right for everyone.
Term life insurance
Term life insurance covers you for a “term” as short as a year or as long as 30 years and serves one purpose: to provide a death benefit if you die during that time period.
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Health reform blog
ACA opponents use delay in small business exchanges to sow seeds of doubt about the law
In March, HHS proposed a temporary change to rules for the ACA's Small Business Health Options exchange program. Obamacare critics immediately began using the change to spread confusion and doubt about the law. More...
A helping hand for Rep. Marsha Blackburn: Industry insider Wendell Potter offers help get to the bottom of premium increases
The industry is waging a campaign to obscure the truth: premiums have become unaffordable not because of the ACA but because insurers have been able to get away with raising rates as high as necessary to meet profits expected by board members, shareholders and Wall Street financial analysts. More...
Medicare news
Is pain-free Medicare reform possible?
Last month, President Obama signaled that he is "open to making modest adjustments to programs like Medicare." Should seniors brace for bad news? No, says blogger Maggie Mahar. "There are many ways to cut Medicare spending without drawing blood. It’s a matter of using a scalpel, not an axe, to trim the fat." More...
What's NOT to like about your Medicare Advantage plan – and how you can switch
While more people are choosing Medicare Advantage plans, not all are pleased with their choices. If you wish to leave your Medicare Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare, you can do so during the Medicare Advantage Disenrollment Period, which runs from January 1 to February 14 each year. More...