Resource of the Week: Consumer Guides for Getting and Keeping Health Insurance
Resource of the Week: Consumer Guides for Getting and Keeping Health Insurance
By Shirl Kennedy, Senior Editor
Here is an issue that, in the United States, needs no elaboration. Even if you, yourself, do not have a health insurance horror story, most assuredly you have a friend, relative or colleague who does. We’re all familiar with these tales by now:
- People who lose their health insurance when their employer kicks them to the curb.
- Small businesses no longer able to offer coverage to employees because premiums have become unaffordable — if they can find a company willing to insure them to begin with.
- Large businesses unable to complete on a level playing field in the increasingly globalized economy, due to the built-in overhead cost of providing health insurance for employees and, sometimes, retirees.
- People without insurance who put off going to the doctor until a health situation reaches the crisis stage, at which point they show up in the emergency room, where they are treated at taxpayers’ expense for something that might have been prevented — or relatively simply and inexpensive to take care of in its early stages.
- People who are tethered to unrewarding/unsuitable jobs — who would maybe like to work part-time and/or start a small business — because of the need for health insurance.
Your ResourceShelf editors, obviously, are not alone in their deep concern about the health insurance crisis. It quickly emerged a key issue in the 2008 Election. And if you keep up with the papers and reports on DocuTicker, our sister site, you already know that “health insurance” is one of the busiest categories over there.
Obviously, we’re not in a position to solve the nation’s health insurance crisis. What we can do is offer you helpful information. Like this week’s resource, from the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute
The Georgetown University Health Policy Institute has written A CONSUMER GUIDE FOR GETTING AND KEEPING HEALTH INSURANCE for each state and the District of Columbia — fifty-one in all. These Consumer Guides are available at this web site and will be updated periodically as changes in federal and state policy warrant.The Guides summarize your protections, and so may not answer all of your questions. They are not a substitute for legal, accounting, or other professional advice. Please consult a qualified expert before making any decisions about your own health insurance. The authors, the Health Policy Institute, and Georgetown University specifically disclaim any personal liability, loss or risk incurred as a consequence of the use and application, either directly or indirectly, of any information presented herein.
Access is straightforward; either use the interactive map on the home page or click the “Alternate list of states” link to a page where the guides are organized by region, alphabetically, and by state population size.
The guides are organized similarly, including a summary of legal protections, specific information for those in group plans and individual plans, information for small businesses and the self-employed, financial assistance options (federal and state), useful phone numbers and other contact information, and a glossary of health insurance-related terms. Some guides can be browsed online; all are available as PDF downloads.
Also available here:
+Managing Medical Bills: Strategies for Navigating the Health Care System, which consists of three guides:
- Understanding Private Health Insurance (PDF; 1 MB)
- Medicare and Medicaid: A Health Care Safety Net for People with Serious Disabilities and Chronic Conditions (PDF; 948 KB)
- Options for Avoiding and Managing Medical Debt (PDF; 616 KB)
Also on this page, a recently updated list of state “high risk pools,” with contact information.
Additionally, the Health Policy Institute’s Center on Medical Record Rights and Privacy offers information on how to obtain copies of your medical records and amend/correct the information contained therein. Guides are available for all states in PDF or HTML.
And you’ll find a link to A Consumer Guide to Handling Disputes with Your Employer or Private Health Plan, from Consumers Union and the Kaiser Family Foundation.