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For those of uncertain economic times, UnitedHealth Group has a “first of its kind” product: the right to purchase an individual health policy at some point in the future, even if you became ill.
UnitedHealth called continuity, the product is not real medical insurance, but is intended for people who may have insurance now, but are worried they may lose it - and may not be able to obtain replacement insurance on their own. They can expect to retire earlier, for example, before they qualify for Medicare. Or they are worried about the possibility of losing their job and their health coverage.
People who are already sick in general will not be eligible for the new product. Those who do not pass a medical review, will pay 20 percent each month from the current first person on a policy to reserve the right to be insured under the plan at some point in the future.
“What this product is designed to make for a very modest premium, essentially, is to protect your future insurability,” said Richard A. Collins, president of UnitedHealth individual insurance unit, which says it is the first policy holder. His monthly fee is $ 50.
Some political experts question whether health UnitedHealth Continuity is a good way for consumers to spend their money. They recognize that people are forced to buy insurance on their own faces a daunting task. If you are not healthy, so people can find any available coverage too expensive. And most states insurers to refuse to sell new individual policies to anyone with a pre-existing medical condition.

But if changes in the health insurance system appear under Obama administration, they say, UnitedHealth’s new product may become obsolete.

“As an individual, you bet against health reform,” said Peter V. Lee, executive director of the national health policy for Pacific, the Health Business Group, California, a group of employers offering health coverage for their workers .

Mr. Lee finds no, seriously, in Washington, to be private insurers agree to provide individual coverage for everyone, regardless of their state of health. People who choose to pay in order to find UnitedHealth ensure that the insurance industry will be offering the same charge.

“It is an attempt to have a solution for the market to a market failure,” said Mr Lee.

Mr. Collins says he is indifferent about the possibility of reforming health care, given the uncertainties surrounding the efforts of any government. “Until something happens, it is a very good,” he said. UnitedHealth, which announced Tuesday UnitedHealth Continuity product at an investor conference in New York, plans to start promoting it in coming weeks.

It is available in 25 initial 40 states where it currently sells UnitedHealth individual insurance, which does not include New York, New Jersey. The company is applying to sell it in 15 states, including Connecticut, where it now sells to individuals. Monthly fees for the right reservation UnitedHealth insurance will vary, depending on people age and sex, where they live and how generous a plan coverage they select.

A 50 male Columbus, Ohio, which takes eventually planned to a political person, that he would be forced to pay 3500 U.S. dollars in medical bills would pay $ 32 a month for the right to get in the end that coverage - or 20 percent of a policy which now costs $ 159 per month.

But it is uncertain exactly how much you could end up paying for a guarantee, or medical coverage for himself in the future. Bonus and monthly fees are likely to increase over time.

And people attracted to the new product could develop expensive medical ailments, experts say, so enrollees could have eventually to pay higher premiums than people able to join plans to open only healthy. But UnitedHealth says it collects monthly upfront fees could help cover some of the biggest medical expenses on the road, where they appear.

People who lose their employer provided coverage have other options. Under federal law Cobra, they can continue their employer-based coverage for a period of time after their departure or lose jobs. And some states have insurance programs available even for those who are at high risk involved in medical bills.

Private insurers are increasingly interested in coming up with new Plans coverage, offering even to people with pre-existing conditions, said Bob Vineyard, an insurance broker in Atlanta. He said he expected such schemes to be introduced next year.

There are people for whom the new product UnitedHealth Continuity will make sense, said Mr. alive, as someone who expects to work on contract for employers that provide health benefits, but anticipates that gaps in coverage.

But Mr alive said he did not expect to have continuity plan for widespread appeal. Many people, he said, especially those who are already fighting the current economy, you may not want to spend money for coverage. “I think it is very, very limited application,” he said.

Some financial planners are also lukewarm to the idea of spending extra money for a guarantee. Neil Brown, a financial planner for Burkett Financial Services in West Columbia, SC, compared such a purchase to sleep with a life preserver for fear of drowning. Some advocates for changing the system of health insurance say that, rather than waiting for individuals to spend hundreds of dollars a year for a guarantee that may not need the government should do more to make sure everyone has access to cover.

“This product is taking advantage of the lack of common sense health care reform that could easily resolve this problem,” said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a consumer advocacy in Washington.

But Mr. Collins of UnitedHealth argues that it is a way of continuity for consumers to make sure that they can get medical insurance that can be better than nothing, the government comes up with. “I think it is a wonderful hedge,”