What types of health information are consumers compelled to divulge under Affordable Care Act rules?

I just selected a new health insurance plan and they’re asking me questions about my health. I thought insurance companies can’t do this anymore?

Under health care reform laws, insurance companies can’t require you to answer health questions in order to buy insurance.

However, once you are covered by a health plan, companies are allowed to ask questions to determine whether you qualify for one of their disease management programs or for case management services. Disease management programs help consumers learn how to manage chronic health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, or depression.

Case management programs help consumers who have very serious health conditions, such as leukemia, cut through the red tape to get the insurance company to pay for their treatment. For example, to prevent misdiagnosis, some insurance companies won’t start paying for cancer treatment until consumers get a second opinion to confirm the diagnosis. The average consumer wouldn’t know this, but a case manager will tell the consumer about this requirement and, if necessary, help the consumer schedule an appointment for a second opinion. Many case managers are also licensed nurses, so they can also suggest solutions to problems, such as side effects, that consumers experience during treatment.

Both of these services are voluntary, so you don’t have to answer the questions. Even if you do answer the questions, you don’t have to participate in the programs.

I recently applied for life insurance and they made me answer questions about my health. I thought insurance companies can’t do this anymore?

Under health care reform laws, insurance companies can’t require you answer health questions in order to buy medical insurance. However, insurance companies can still require to you answer health questions to buy other types of insurance, including:

• Life insurance 
• Long-term care insurance 
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance 
• Disability insurance
• Medicare Supplement plans and Medicare Advantage plans, under certain circumstances

Read more information about health care reform.

Our consumer experts can answer your questions about any type of insurance. They are available by phone at 1-800-562-6900 or by submitting an inquiry through our website.

Kreidler: Nearly 14.5 percent of Washingtonians were uninsured in 2012

Today, we issued our fourth report on the number of Washingtonians who have no health insurance. At the end of 2012, some 990,000 people -- approximately 14.5 percent of the state's population -- were uninsured.

From 2010 through 2012:

• The number of uninsured people in Washington grew by more than 44,000.
• Four out of five people with individual insurance were underinsured, meaning they had plans that only paid for 25-40 percent of their medical costs.
• Employer-sponsored coverage grew increasingly scarce.
• Uncompensated care ballooned to nearly $1 billion per year.

The Affordable Care Act fully took effect on Jan. 1 and the uninsured rate is expected to drop to 6 percent by 2016. Early provisions of the Affordable Care Act prevented an estimated 100,000 people from joining the ranks of the uninsured prior to 2014.

�For many families who have struggled to get or keep health coverage, health reform couldn�t come soon enough,� said Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. �Regardless of how you feel about �Obamacare,� it�s hard to argue that we�re not making progress in stopping the growth of uninsured or that the status quo was sustainable. Before health reform, we had hundreds of thousands of people living one bad diagnosis away from bankruptcy.�

• Read the news release.
• Read the uninsured report.