The population of Florida is the fourth largest population in the country, eighteen million people. About fifty percent of those people have insurance that is provided through their employer. Another twenty percent of Florida residents have no insurance at all, and the rest have their insurance through private companies. To provide coverage for all these people there are three basic Florida health insurance plans.
Many families and residents have individual policies. this is not a policy that is offered by an employer and can only be purchased through a private company. Applicants for these Florida health insurance plans can be denied coverage is the insurance company decides that insuring them is too big of a risk.
These policies are unique to the person purchasing them and there are many features that can be tailored to the specific needs and wishes of the person being insured. Premiums for these individual plans take many factors into account including age, gender, health status, occupation, and pre-existing conditions.
Purchasers of Florida health insurance plans can also get group health care plans. Most often these are provided by employers, although they can also be purchased privately as well. With group insurance plans, no one can be denied coverage. This includes denial for pre-existing conditions or current health status; everyone is covered as long as they pay the premiums.
The insurance coverage is identical and the plan cannot be customized too much since this would effect what the employer pays, and generally that is not allowed. The employer usually pays most of the premium amount, with the employees contributing a smaller portion of that out of their paycheck. Also, should someone lose their job the Florida COBRA rules state that the group coverage must be provided for 18 full months if the former employee pays the full premium himself or herself.
There are also government sponsored health insurance plans in Florida that one can avail themselves of if necessary. The two programs of note for the state are Medicaid and Florida Kidcare. Medicaid is a federally run program that makes insurance available for those that may be unable to get health insurance through other means.
Kidcare is a program that offers families a nominal cost to get health insurance coverage for their children, usually about fifteen to twenty dollars a month. Both of these programs are ideal to provide coverage in the event that you are ineligible for private coverage or if you need short-term coverage after moving.