Alabama Health Insurance

Although Alabama’s health insurance regulations are relatively lax overall, there are a handful of useful advantages that a consumer can expect when shopping for insurance here.  Below are a few of the most important regulations currently in effect.

• Health insurance companies in Alabama may choose to exclude pre-existing conditions (meaning any condition for which you have been diagnosed or treated within the past five years) from being covered by any new policy contract they offer.  By law, this exclusion is temporary— after the policy has been in place for at least two years, any and all pre-existing conditions must be covered.  The two-year delay applies to any new health insurance policy, so changing your insurance will most likely mean waiting another two years before pre-existing conditions are covered.  Insurers are not required to take on costs for treatment of pre-existing conditions that arise during the exclusion period.

• Once you have purchased a health insurance policy in Alabama, it is illegal for your insurer to cancel your coverage on the grounds of illness.  In fact, as long as all premiums are paid in full, policy-holders are guaranteed the right to renew their health insurance coverage indefinitely.

• Insurance companies in Alabama are permitted to reject new health insurance applications based on the present health of the applicant.  In those cases where they do choose to offer coverage, they are free to specify coverage and set premiums with little restriction.  Consumers are strongly recommended to carefully review the details, wording, and price of any offered health insurance contract before accepting it.

• Every small business, a category that generally includes any business having between 2 and 50 employees, is guaranteed the ability to purchase any group health insurance policy that is currently being offered to any other small business.  As with individual policies, insurers may take the present health status, age, sex, and other factors into account when setting the premiums for these policies, and these group policies may not be cancelled by the insurer on the grounds that one if its participants has become ill.  Group policies offered to small businesses may have minimum-participation requirements which, if not met, can become grounds for cancellation.

• Residents of Alabama who are self-employed are not typically eligible to purchase a group insurance policy unless they also have at least one employee, but self-employed workers with an individual health insurance policy may still be able to deduct a significant portion of its premiums from their taxes.

These are the most significant regulations to consider when shopping for a new health insurance policy in Alabama, but this list may not cover everything.  No matter what, it’s always a good idea to shop around and carefully investigate your options before buying a new insurance policy. 

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