One of the key things to realize about West Virginia Health Insurance is that there are two primary types of private health insurance that West Virginians buy.
These are Group West Virginia Health Insurance and Individual West Virginia Health Insurance.
The primary difference between the two lies in the way that the cover is purchased, though inevitably with an individual policy you do have more control over which company to buy the insurance through, whether to choose a traditional or a managed care policy, and also whether or not to add any extra cover to the policy to make it even more comprehensive.
So it would certainly be true to say that Individual West Virginia Health Insurance does have a greater flexibility in the choice stage of the process at least, even though in other respects a group policy may be the preferable choice.
Let’s consider the two types:
Group West Virginia Health Insurance
With Group West Virginia Health Insurance it is not a case of an individual deciding which insurance company is good, or which specific policy to choose, but rather an acknowledgement of the fact that when you start a new job, or join certain associations, unions or MEWA (multiple employer welfare arrangements) that you are able to join a group policy that covers a whole group of people that are in the same circumstances as yourself.
The most common Group West Virginia Health Insurance Plans are entered into when people start new jobs, though you may sometimes have to wait a qualifying period of 90 days in order to be able to apply.
You can also often offer other members of your immediate family access on the same policy, so if you have a particularly good policy for a relatively low premium, then it can be worth moving your entire family onto it.
There are a couple of types of Group Plans.
Employers who have between two and fifty employees offer West Virginia Small Employer Group Coverage, whilst employers with greater than fifty staff offer West Virginia Large Employer Group Coverage.
Group Health Insurance for the Self Employed in West Virginia
Because associations and trade unions are also able to offer group policies then often one easy way for self-employed people to gain coverage under a group policy, is simply to join a trade union or a trade association. The advantage of doing this rather than getting individual insurance is that whereas individual insurance is subject to normal underwriting procedures (and hence you can be refused); this is not true of group policies, where the insurance companies have to accept you and where a medical is not normally required.
Individual West Virginia Health Insurance
If you cannot find any trade organizations or trade unions to join who have a group policy, than an individual plan is a good way of getting the health cover that you need if you are self-employed.
It can also be good if you are unemployed, or if you desire more control over the policy that you buy.
You will however have to undergo underwriting and this will involve having a medical to prove that you are insurable.
Insurance companies are most definitely NOT charities, and you will find that it is not uncommon for them to reject applications if they believe that they pose too great a risk for claims.
The standards against which these tests are applied however will vary between health insurance companies in West Virginia, and so even if you are rejected by one company, your application may well be accepted by another, so persist.
Conclusion
Regardless of whether you choose to get insured through a group policy at work, through a trade organization, a trade union or individually, make sure that you do get covered.
The potential costs of health care are huge and some type of Comprehensive West Virginia Health Insurance to protect you is very much a must.