Are you one of those people who are afraid of how the health care reform will affect health insurance Georgia policies? Although it appears as if there is national support for health care reform, there are many people who believe this will negatively affect health insurance Georgia plans and prices. This doesn’t mean people are against providing access to health insurance Georgia policies to more Georgia residents. What it does mean is that the government is so heavily regulating health insurance that it most likely will end up costing tax payers a lot of money.
Up until now, health insurance Georgia carriers have denied application coverage to individuals who have high health risks and are in poor physical health. This is one effective method of keeping health insurance Georgia premiums low because the costs for a high risk expensive member are distributed among all the members of a plan. The government already prohibits health insurance Georgia carriers from denying coverage to high risk applicants of a group employee plan. But for individual or family health insurance Georgia policies, carriers were still allowed to look at health conditions and high risk factors as a determining factors in whether to approve the health insurance Georgia policy or not.
However, one of the health care reform acts stipulations is that health insurance Georgia carriers can no longer base approval or denial based on current health condition or high health risk factors. This means that they will have to provide health insurance Georgia coverage to individuals who will have a lot of medical expenses. These costs will then trickle down and be passed on to all the members of that particular health insurance Georgia plan. Over time, these premium increases could be significant. This is why so many people are concerned about the reform acts.
However, that is not the only way in which the health care reform is affecting health insurance Georgia plan premiums. There are many services that the government is now requiring health insurance Georgia plans to include. For example, preventive services must now be covered with no co-payment. Maternity and prescription benefits must be included in all health insurance Georgia plans. In the past, individuals could pick and choose what services they wanted in order to keep their health insurance Georgia plan premiums low. However, now all health insurance Georgia plans must include certain required medical services. This also will result in higher premiums as some individuals may end up with a health insurance Georgia plan that has more services than they really require, and they have to pay for them.
What the proponents of health care reform are hoping for is that with the large influx of members to health insurance Georgia plans, because all American citizens will be required to purchase health insurance policies, the carriers will make enough money that they will not have to raise prices. This is certainly a possibility. However, it is difficult to predict if this is what is going to happen or not.
For now, what you can do is make sure you are happy with your health insurance Georgia policy. If not, contact your health insurance Georgia carrier or insurance broker, to discuss what changes you need to make to your specific health insurance Georgia policy. Stay informed of the upcoming changes, and hope for the best.