HealthInsuranceInfo.net is a website created by the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, a non-profit, academic research institute. Since its inception in 1997, this site has been dedicated to providing accurate, clear, unbiased information to people seeking to buy and maintain health insurance. All materials on this website are available to the general public, free of charge.

The central feature of this website is its’ state-by-state consumer guides, available both online and in pdf. format for easy printing. These consumer guides outline the consumer’s rights under state and federal law when the consumer seeks to buy, maintain, or switch health insurance policies, regardless of health or risk status. The guides for all 50 states and the District of Columbia are updated periodically to reflect any changes in federal and state policy.

Visitors to HealthInsuranceInfo.net can also click on a number of other features, including Falling Through the Cracks, a report that sheds light on the shortcomings of health insurance coverage for diabetes patients; Evaluating Health Insurance Choices Worksheet, a two-page worksheet that helps consumers evaluate and compare different types of health-care coverages; and Consumer’s Guides to Handling Disputes…, a guide to a health plan’s internal appeals process, external review process, and the consumer’s appeal rights. More of this website’s features are outlined in detail below.

News You Can Use

News You Can Use is an online newsletter that discusses protections consumers have under state and federal law. Issues of this newsletter contain case studies, statistics, discussions of options, and solutions. Visitors can access the archive of all past issues, which date back to March 2002.

Summary of Key Consumer Protections in Individual Health Insurance Markets

This chart, organized alphabetically by state, outlines the laws and regulations in effect in states’ individual health insurance markets. Consumers can scan the chart to find out, for example, if their state of residency requires that all health insurance policies be offered to all residents on a guaranteed year-round basis. Consumers can also check their state’s policy on rating restrictions and elimination riders, among other things.

Managing Medical Bills

Managing Medical Bills: Strategies for Navigating the Health Care System is made up of three guides, which collectively assist consumers in finding and maintaining individual health insurance coverage. Topics range from “What is Good Health Insurance? What to Look for and What to Avoid” to “An Overview of Medicare” to “Places to Go for Free Health Care.”