Guaranteed issue is a term used in

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

to describe a situation where a policy is offered to any eligible applicant without regard to health status. Often this is the result of guaranteed issue statutes regarding how health insurance may be sold, or to provide a means for people with

pre-existing condition In the context of healthcare in the United States, a pre-existing condition is a medical condition that started before a person's health insurance went into effect. Before 2014, some insurance policies would not cover expenses due to pre-existin ...

s the ability to obtain health insurance of some kind. Under the

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presi ...

(ACA), all health insurance policies must be sold on a guaranteed issue basis. Prior to the ACA, a small number of states required insurers to sell all coverage on this basis in the individual health insurance market. In addition, the "creditable coverage" provisions of the

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA or the Kennedy– Kassebaum Act) is a United States Act of Congress enacted by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on August 21, 1 ...

are often considered to be a federal guaranteed issue regulation which some states fulfilled using a

high-risk pool An equalization pool is a fund created to level out differences in financial risk, often across long periods of time, in a process known as risk equalization. Examples include mandatory health insurance and grower co-operatives. Health insurance I ...

program.

References

See also