When a health insurance policy is referred to as guaranteed issue,' this means that the insurance company will not decline your application for medical reasons. In most cases, Individuals policies are not 'guaranteed issue' and the insurance company may decline your application for insurance if they feel you are high-risk because of past health history or current health status. Some states, such as New York, require that any insurance company selling Individuals in that state must guarantee issue any person that applies for coverage. There may be other factors that allow the insurance company to deny your application, even if you are applying for guaranteed issue coverage. For eample, you may still be required to be under the age of 65, a resident of the state or a legal resident. Guarantee issue does not necessarily mean the insurance company must offer coverage to anybody who applies. It simply means that they can't deny your application based on your medical history. Common types of guaranteed issue coverage are HIPAA plans, risk pools, group health plans and COBRA coverage. Under federal law, all states must have a 'guaranteed issue' health insurance option for any person that is HIPAA eligible. In many states, this type of guaranteed coverage is offered through the state's high-risk pool, while in other states HIPAA coverage must be offered by Individuals carriers. Other types of guaranteed coverage apply to Small Business. Any person eligible for coverage under a group health plan may not be denied coverage based on their personal health history. The same hold true if that person leaves the group plan and has an option to go on COBRA coverage. The insurance company may not deny a person their right to accept COBRA coverage, regardless of their claims history or health risks. It is also important to understand that just because you are enrolling in a 'guaranteed issue' medical insurance plan, the insurance company will not automatically pay for any treatments for your pre-eisting medical conditions. Unless your have had continuous coverage, and are HIPAA eligible, the insurance company may still have the right to eclude payment on a pre-eisting condition for a specific period of time. This eclusionary period may vary based on state regulations, but is commonly set at 12 months.'