There are very few people that are going to talk to you if you're not a perfect specimen. There is very little choice. In today's era of managed care, California consumers like Scrivano are at the mercy of the health insurance industry. This is the wild, wild West of health insurance. The major issue that faces the individual market in California is that insurers don't have to accept you for coverage.
Millions gamble and simply do without it.
By far, most Americans don't have to worry about medical insurance. Nationwide, 16.2 million, or 7 percent of people under 65 years old, carried individual private insurance in 1996, according to the Kaiser report. These numbers are likely to grow as more workers venture out on their own because of corporate downsizing, the glass ceiling to job promotions, early retirements or the desire to become an entrepreneur. In the next three years, these ranks are predicted to surge from 20 million to 28 million. By law, workers leaving a company can continue their employer's coverage for 18 months.