Nebraska Health Insurance

Health insurance regulations in Nebraska are among the least restrictive in the nation, so knowing about the few rules they must obey is particularly important to getting good health coverage in this state.  Paying attention to details in the wording of your health insurance policy is critical to ensuring that nothing disadvantageous is slipped in that can work against you later.  The list below contains several key pieces of information that should help you get your bearings before shopping for new health coverage in Nebraska.

• One item that must always be present in any policy sold in Nebraska is a clause that guarantees your right to renew your coverage.  This means that, so long as you’ve been entirely truthful in your insurance application and paid all premiums in full, your insurer cannot prevent you from renewing your existing health coverage every time it expires.  In addition, it is illegal for them to cancel your policy solely on the grounds that you have become ill.
• Nebraska imposes very little restriction on how insurance companies can deal with pre-existing conditions.  When you’re setting up a new health plan, your insurer can choose to specify any health issue diagnosed or treated in at any point in the past is a “pre-existing condition” and therefore not covered by your policy.  This exemption can be temporary— lasting for any duration, from months to years— or permanent.  This point is something that should be given special attention when you decide to purchase health insurance here.
• The state of Nebraska does not impose limitations on the cost or availability of health insurance, meaning that any insurance company is free to turn down any application for coverage for reasons like health concerns, age, demographics, and so on.  The rates charged for health insurance are also unrestricted, so your premiums may rise dramatically if one of your risk factors increases.
• Small businesses in Nebraska are guaranteed the ability to purchase group health coverage comparable to what other small companies in the state enjoy, provided that their enterprise is no larger than fifty employees (and no smaller than two).  The costs of this coverage are not strictly limited, so two businesses may pay vastly different rates for the same kind of health plan if the risk factors of their employees are different.
• Group health plans offered to any small business may come with certain strings attached, such as a requirement to ensure that at least a certain percentage of the company’s staff participates in the plan or a mandatory employer contribution to each employee’s premiums.  Failing to meet these obligations can potentially result in the outright cancellation of the company’s health coverage.
• If you are self-employed and do not have any others working for you, Nebraska’s health insurance companies are not required to sell you a group health insurance policy as they would with a larger company.  If you choose to acquire individual health coverage instead, you may be able to deduct a large percentage of the premiums from your taxes.

Knowledge is the key to success in any marketplace, and this is especially true in Nebraska’s health insurance market.  Being aware of what insurers are allowed to get away with will give you an edge in dealing with them, and making them compete for your business (by getting as many competing offers as possible) will be an indispensable tool in finding the kind of health coverage you need at a reasonable price.

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