• Kentucky Access is an insurance plan that offers coverage to individuals who cannot buy an individual health insurance policy because they have preexisting health conditions.gesundheitsreform image by elvira gerecht from Fotolia.com
  
  The Kentucky Department of Insurance regulates all types of insurance sold in the state, including health insurance policies. Kentucky health insurance laws do not have strict policy restrictions. For example, health insurance companies can refuse coverage or charge more for coverage due to health and age, although a limit to how much they can charge is imposed. Nonetheless, Kentucky health insurance companies are required by law to offer a state standardized health insurance policy to any individual.
  
  

Job Health Insurance

• The insurance plan regulated by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is for people who acquire insurance through their jobs. EBSA creates and enforces the rules that the employer must follow when offering health insurance coverage to employees. No one can be excluded from the plan because of a costly illness or emergency. Additionally, if 20 or more individuals are employed at a job, COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) should offer continuation coverage to these employees leaving said job. EBSA works to protect employee rights and to assure these processes run smoothly.
  
  

Individual Health Insurance

• Generally, insurers in Kentucky can reject an application for coverage based on the applicant's health status. However, to qualify for HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) in Kentucky, the individual must have had at least 18 months of continuous creditable coverage, the last day being under a group plan, and the applicant must have used all COBRA continuation coverage. People who are eligible can buy insurance through Kentucky Access, a plan that offers coverage to individuals who cannot buy an individual health insurance policy because they have preexisting health conditions.
  
  

Self-Employed and Small Employer Health Insurance

• Federal law protects those employers who choose to buy health insurance for themselves and their workers. Kentucky has enacted reforms to provide more protections, some of which apply to different sized groups. Generally, small employers are those that employ 2 to 50 employees. In general, insurance companies cannot turn down small employers. For example, if an employer has 50 people eligible for health benefits, health insurance companies must sell a small group health plan that they sell to small employers. This is called guaranteed issue. The companies can require that a minimum percentage of eligible employees sign up for coverage.