New report: Individual health insurance market failing consumers

Contact: Mary Mahon
mm@cmwf.org
212-606-3853
Commonwealth Fund

New report: Individual health insurance market failing consumers
73 percent who tried to buy insurance on their own did not purchase a plan; half of adults with individual coverage have out-of pocket and premium costs that equal 10 percent or more of income

New report: Individual health insurance market failing consumers: "New York, NY, July 21, 2009—The individual health insurance market is not a viable option for the majority of uninsured adults, a new report from The Commonwealth Fund finds. Seventy-three percent of people who tried to buy insurance on their own in the last three years did not purchase a policy, primarily because premiums were too high. In addition, among adults with individual coverage or who tried to buy coverage in the past three years, 57 percent said it was very difficult or impossible to find coverage they could afford, 47 percent said it was very difficult or impossible to find a plan with the coverage they needed, and 36 percent were denied coverage or charged more because of a pre-existing condition, or had the condition excluded from their coverage." ...