Would you be able to buy individual health insurance in the US?
 

http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/reso...derwriting.pdf

I wouldn't, my wife would, one of my kids wouldn't. Basically unless you are an anorexic bean pole who has never had nor will ever have a single health problem, you are SOL.

I don't want to bring politics into this discussion, but to me this is a good illustration of why health care is not working in this country and why it needs reform.

- Tim

Re: Would you be able to buy individual health insurance in the US?
 

You are confusing two issues, health care and insurance.

I would expect similar underwriting conditions if you were looking to buy insurance in the UK, or pretty much anywhere else.

Re: Would you be able to buy individual health insurance in the US?
 

The two issues are tightly bound in the US, given that insurance is the major means by which people access healthcare. Obviously that's not the case in the UK. And in other western countries that use insurance as a means of achieving universal healthcare, insurance companies are much more heavily regulated than is the case in the US.

Re: Would you be able to buy individual health insurance in the US?
 

On average, the US Insurance Industry is much more heavily regulated than the UK one, for example.

There are hardly any regulations in the UK concerning underwriting in this area. I did note that there is talk of EU regulations excluding gender as a rating factor.

Re: Would you be able to buy individual health insurance in the US?
 

Very few people in the UK have to rely on insurance as their means of healthcare access. I really don't see its relevance to a discussion about US healthcare insurance, where the reverse is true.

Re: Would you be able to buy individual health insurance in the US?
 

Actually there was a thread on here about a woman who had problems getting insurance because she was considered too thin.

Re: Would you be able to buy individual health insurance in the US?
 

I could quite understand that, there was that French? Model who died recently that was painfully thin, a lot of fuss about the message she was sending. Or the advertising agencies who used her.

Re: Would you be able to buy individual health insurance in the US?
 

You raised it.

Re: Would you be able to buy individual health insurance in the US?
 

What do you call the UK's NI system?

Re: Would you be able to buy individual health insurance in the US?
 

Not insurance, the 'premium' has no relation to the benefit or even eligibility to receive a benefit.

Re: Would you be able to buy individual health insurance in the US?
 

Huh? :unsure:

Re: Would you be able to buy individual health insurance in the US?
 

I call it irrelevant to the discussion - since the NHS is funded by general taxation not NI and you don't actually have to pay into either to be eligible for NHS treatment.

Re: Would you be able to buy individual health insurance in the US?
 

Well reading that I fail to qualify for heath cover on three counts. Strange I have never had any problem getting the full over I've wanted at standard rates.

Re: Would you be able to buy individual health insurance in the US?
 

Seems that the doc is a bit of a general one though, states have plenty of weird little tidbits to change things and all that.

Re: Would you be able to buy individual health insurance in the US?
 

Aka regulations, is there a State that does not regulate?