Hassle-Free Health Coverage: Group Policies

Many people get their health insurance -- indemnity or managed care -- as an employee benefit through their job or the job of a family member. Health insurance first became an employee benefit in the U.S. during World War II.

"Many companies found that offering healthcare coverage was an effective way to attract scarce workers without violating the wartime freeze on salaries," said Kathleen Sebelius, insurance commissioner for the state of Kansas. "After the war, full healthcare coverage soon became an expected benefit of big-business jobs."

You can usually join or change group health plans once a year during open enrollment. But once you make a decision, you have to stay with that plan for at least a year.