Guaranteed Issue

When the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, was implemented it included guaranteed issue for applicants. This was the best part of a very large law.

Previous to January 2014, your health insurance application could be denied for many medical issues. Depending on the insurance company, the reasons for “decline” could be as small as a suspicious rash. Most agents will tell you that they were lucky to get 1 out of 3 applications approved. To add insult to this, the declinations were a negative mark on your health history with another insurance company.

I point this out because I believe this was the biggest reason that our country needed “ObamaCare.” I also want to point out that this law added cost. Most plans increased by at least 30%. Most plans took away benefits. That means your ObamaCare plan would double your plan deductible and out of pocket maximum.

After the pre-existing condition for health insurance went away, enrollment rules became the new rule. There are many various time frames for enrollment. That being true, you should always check to make sure you when you can change or enroll for the first time. The bottom line is that at the end of the year you can enroll or change your plan. That change would be effective the first of the year. There are qualifying event rules you may qualify for.