Utah Low Income Health Insurance Program

According to the Daily Herald, a nonprofit health care advocacy group is protesting proposed changes to Utah's public health insurance programs that could limit health insurance coverage choices for low-income families.

The first change would allow people eligible for Utah's Premium Partnership for Health Insurance, a program that offers subsidies to low-income workers to help them purchase their employer's private insurance, to apply new subsidies to individual health plans if their job doesn't offer one.

The second change the Health Department is seeking would exclude children from the Utah Children's Health Insurance Plan -- a state-sponsored insurance program for kids in low-income families -- if their parents qualify for UPP.

The objective of the proposed change is to force families into private Utah health insurance plans if they can afford it.

The final change would extend the waiting period between when a person drops their private health insurance plan and when they are eligible for UPP help (from 90 days to six months).

Heath Insurers use the web

Robert Nilson (25) could be considered a "young invincible," a term used in the insurance industry to describe healthy young people who find health insurance unnecessary.

Nielsen recently took it upon himself to find a health plan after being uninsured for more than a year. And when the time came, he turned to a place that many people would not think to go: the Internet.

The company he stumbled upon, eHealthinsurance, is the largest online provider of health insurance for individuals, families and small businesses. On its Web site, the company offers 125 different plans in Utah, and each has been approved by the state's Department of Insurance.

While there are certainly people who just don't think they need health insurance, more and more people are seeking some kind of safety net to protect them against high medical bills if an emergency strikes.

Individual health insurance offers people the chance to tailor a plan to meet their needs, such as a high-deductible policy with a low monthly premium for someone with fewer medical needs or a slightly richer plan for those who frequently go to the doctor.