Health Status

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Refers to your medical conditions (both physical and mental health), claims experience, receipt of health care, medical history, genetic information, evidence of insurability, and disability.

Related Articles:
  • Glossary: Community Rating
    A rule that prevents health insurers from varying premiums within a geographic area based on age, gender, health status or other factors.
  • Glossary: Guaranteed Issue
    A requirement that health plans must permit you to enroll regardless of health status, age, gender, or other factors that might predict the use of health services. Except in some states, guaranteed issue doesn't limit how much you can be charged if you enroll.
  • Glossary: Medical Underwriting
    A process used by insurance companies to try to figure out your health status when you're applying for health insurance coverage to determine whether to offer you coverage, at what price, and with what exclusions or limits.
  • Glossary: Nondiscrimination
    A requirement that job-based coverage not discriminate based on health status. Coverage under job-based plans cannot be denied or restricted. You also can't be charged more because of your health status. Job-based plans can restrict coverage based on other factors such as part-time employment that aren't related to health status.
  • Glossary: Risk Adjustment
    A statistical process that takes into account the underlying health status and health spending of the enrollees in an insurance plan when looking at their health care outcomes or health care costs.
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