Getting to Know California Health Insurance Regulations

California health insurance laws can be rather complicated to understand, but by knowing the basics you can be sure that you are getting all of the coverage you should out of your California health insurance company. The California state legislature has enacted quite a few laws to help California health insurance policyholders and the companies that insure them both get a fair deal. California health insurance regulations are in place to guarantee the rights of citizens and businesses.

Like in most states, California health insurance companies are required to allow policyholders to renew their policies at the end of each term as long as the premiums have been paid according to the original contract. This means that a California health insurance company cannot decline a request for renewal based on a policyholder’s illness or age. This California health insurance law is meant to protect the consumer from losing his or her insurance even if he or she has submitted a large number of claims during a term. This law prohibits California health insurance companies from canceling policies in order to save money.

The cost of health insurance is another big issue for California health insurance customers. There are no California health insurance regulations regarding how much a monthly premium should be. This is left completely up to the California health insurance company. California health insurance companies can charge as little or as much as they see fit for a monthly premium. California health insurance companies often base their prices on an individual’s age and relative health. For instance, a healthy twenty-five year-old girl will probably pay a lower California health insurance premium than a sixty year old man, simply because the risk to the California health insurance company is a lot less.

Pre-existing condition clauses are always a source of debate between insurance companies and their clients. According to California health insurance law, a California health insurance company can refuse to pay for services relating to the treatment of pre-existing conditions. However, California health insurance regulations limit the amount of time a California health insurance company can consider an illness a pre-existing condition. The amount of time a California health insurance company will wait before beginning to pay on pre-existing condition claims is called the exclusion period. Exclusion periods vary from company to company, but California health insurance law states that the exclusion period cannot be more than three years. After three years of having the same California health insurance policy, the company must begin paying on new pre-existing condition claims. California health insurance law is rather unique in that it allows for policyholders to combine the exclusion periods from two different plans to add up to the sum of three years. If a California health insurance policyholder has waited through two years of exclusion, he or she will not have to start over if he or she changes to a new California health insurance company.

California health insurance dependent laws have a few provisions that differ from many other states’. The law states that a California health insurance company is required to cover adopted children and newborns for thirty-one days after birth or adoption. This allows parents a grace period that can come in handy in an emergency. Another California health insurance rule regarding dependents that is uncommon in many states deals with handicapped dependents. If a California health insurance policyholder has a handicapped dependent that cannot have a job on his or her own, California health insurance companies are required to continue to provide dependent coverage to the individual even if he or she is to old to be considered a dependent under normal California health insurance contract rules.

Getting to Know California Health Insurance Regulations

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