Friday, December 19, 2008

Does Your Health Insurance Need an Insurance Policy?

By Ethan Kalvin

Insurance for your insurance? What's next? UnitedHealth, a leading healthcare insurer has recently introduced an insurance policy that insures your health insurance policy. In other words, it insures that you can keep your health insurance.

Appropriately enough, the new product is called Continuity, as reported by the New York Times. One UnitedHealth official stated that for a modest premium this product is designed to essentially protect your ability to keep your health insurance for the future.

Given that most states have guaranteed renewability, which means that your policy can't be cancelled if you get sick or injured, Continuity may not be the right remedy at the right time. It won't protect you from health insurance rate increases, and its own premiums will go up over time. And if you have a pre-existing condition you likely won't get coverage.

This plan doesn't sound like it is going to have much appeal for the masses. Continuity could be a good option for some, like contract workers for instance, who expect coverage gaps. But as a recent interview with an insurance broker revealed, it offers limited appeal for most.

But Continuity isn't a health insurance plan, as reported in the Times article, so what would be the point? What is the need for it? If there are gaps in coverage in an employer's plan, Continuity won't offer any supplemental coverage. The public will have to do their homework and decide if Continuity is worth the added premium. - 16928

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