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Purchasing Individual Washington DC Health Insurance Coverage

If you are not able to obtain a group policy and you exceed the income requirements for government-sponsored programs, you may be able to buy individual coverage directly from a licensed health carrier.

Individual policies can be expensive, and carriers will evaluate your health risk factors before making a decision to issue coverage. That means that if you or your child has serious medical condition, or is predisposed toward a certain condition, a carrier may decline to issue coverage. However, if a carrier declines you coverage, check with another carrier. Each carrier has different criteria for accepting customers. Some carriers will only issue coverage for children as the dependents of an insured adult but other carriers offer children's coverage only.

Individual coverage may be purchased as either an indemnity or managed care plan. Indemnity plans are sold exclusively by insurance companies, and will generally cover services from any licensed health provider as long as treatment is consistent with the terms of the policy. Whereas, managed care plans can be sold by both insurance companies and HMOs. Typically, managed care plans are more affordable than indemnity plans, but indemnity plans provide members with the most flexibility in obtaining health services.

Before purchasing any individual health plan, it is important to verify that the carrier and agent are licensed. Verifying that the carrier is licensed protects you against fraud.

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