Montana Health Insurance

Few among us ever really look forward to shopping for health insurance, but fewer still can afford not to have some sort of coverage.  Since the state of Montana imposes only rudimentary restrictions on its health insurance companies, those who are planning to look for coverage here would be well-advised to learn about what insurers can and cannot do when administering your policy.  The list below contains facts about Montana’s health insurance regulations that should get you moving in the right direction.

• Any health insurance policy sold in Montana is required by law to include a clause guaranteeing your ability to renew your coverage as many times as you wish.  This means that, so long as your premiums are paid in full and your application did not contain any false information, your insurer cannot prevent you from renewing your health insurance when it expires.  In addition, your insurer can never cancel your coverage on the grounds that your health is less than perfect.
• If your health insurance covers dependents, it will automatically cover any newly-adopted or newborn children you have for up to 31 days after they join your family.  It is assumed that you will have made other arrangements by the time that period ends.
• Pre-existing conditions, defined under Montana’s laws as any health problems that were diagnosed and/or treated in the three years prior to the start of your new health plan, may be specifically excluded from coverage by your insurer, as noted in your insurance contract.  Normally, this exclusion cannot last for more than twelve months; by employing an elimination rider, however, your insurer can choose to exclude that condition permanently.
• Insurance companies in Montana are given great latitude in deciding whether to offer coverage to new applicants, and it is legal for them to decline any applicant for reasons like poor health, age, and so on.  If they do decide to offer you coverage, they are required by law to offer a state-specified standard coverage package as an alternative to their own health plans.
• At least two different group health insurance options must always be made available to any small business in Montana, according to state regulations.  If your business has between 2 and 50 employees, it automatically has access to health coverage comparable to what is being offered to other small businesses in Montana.
• Maintaining health coverage for any small business in this state may require keeping to certain conditions, as specified by your insurer.  For example, the employer may be required to pay a certain portion of each employee’s premiums, or ensure at least a minimum level of participation among the company’s staff.  Failure to meet these requirements can mean the cancellation of coverage for the entire company.
• As with individual insurance, Montana prohibits insurers from cancelling health coverage for any small business on the basis of poor health among the insured employees.  Of course, that doesn’t mean that the price of continued coverage cannot be raised on these grounds.
• Self-employed individuals in Montana are not automatically considered “small businesses” for the purpose of buying health coverage, so if you are self-employed and have no one working for you it may be necessary to acquire individual health insurance instead.  Fortunately, Montana may allow you to deduct a portion of the premiums for this insurance from your tax liability.

In states like Montana, where regulations on health insurance companies are especially loose, being informed about what your rights and advantages are can be vital to getting a good deal.  Once you’re able to pinpoint what kind of coverage you’re looking for, however, it should simply be a matter of comparing the offers of the various competing insurers to find health insurance that will suit your needs.

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