Individual Insurance: Health Insurers Try to Tap Potential Market Growth

November 4, 2009 Elizabeth A. November, Genna R. Cohen, Paul B. Ginsburg and Brian C. Quinn write that individual insurance is the only source of health coverage for people without access to employer-sponsored insurance or public insurance. Individual insurance traditionally has been sought by older, sicker individuals who perceive the need for insurance more than younger, healthier people. The attraction of a sicker population to the individual market creates adverse selection, leading insurers to employ medical underwriting to either avoid those with the greatest health needs or set premiums more reflective of their expected medical use. Recently, however, several . . .