In Florida, responsibility for the administration, regulation and oversight of the private health insurance market is delegated to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, headed by Commissioner Kevin McCarty. Florida’s regulation of the private health insurance market is neither restrictive nor laissez-faire. Several private health insurance providers operate to serve the Florida health in insurance market, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, a member of the national Blue Cross Blue Shield federation of private health insurance providers. Applications for coverage under an employer sponsored group health insurance plan cannot be denied on the basis of current health status, nor can you be required to pay a higher premium due to your health status. However, you can be made to wait out a certain period of time before pre-existing medical conditions begin to be covered by a new private group health plan. Florida state laws prohibit insurers from cancelling private health cover in the event of illness. It is important to note that in Florida, when purchasing private health insurance on an individual basis (i.e. dealing directly with an insurance company as opposed to arranging insurance through an employer), private health insurers are permitted to discriminate on the basis of medical condition. This is something to take into account when purchasing private health cover.
Florida also provides program called ‘Cover Florida’ for people who have been uninsured for six months or recently lost private health insurance coverage. Under some circumstances, you may be eligible to purchase guaranteed-issue insurance policy if you are considered ‘uninsurable’ by commercial services. In Florida, group insurance plans must cover your dependents (provided your dependents live with you or are students) until the end of the calendar year of your dependents’ 25th year of being dependent on you. The group health plan is also required to offer an option to insure your children until the end of the calendar year of their 30th year, subject to certain conditions (your dependents must remain unmarried without children and must maintain residency in Florida or be a full- or part-time student). Dependents taking advantage of these provisions cannot also be subject to another individual or group health plan at the same time.
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