Health care has become very expensive these days. Health care insurance helps to provide security for any future health care expenses that may arise. Insurance can be purchased either privately or through an insurance broker certified by the State of California. Health Insurance policies are controlled by The California Department of Insurance. There are many kinds of California health insurance policies. There are suitable for different kinds of people, needs, budgets, and lifestyles. Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. The various kinds of California health insurance policies can be categorized as: Indemnity Policies (Traditional Fee-for-Service Insurance), Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs), Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs or Managed Care), Self-Insured Health Plans (Single Employer Self-Insured Plans) and Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs). Indemnity insurance plans provide a greater choice of hospital and doctors. In indemnity plans, the share of the cost of the services is paid only after receiving the bill. You may be required to pay co-payment for covered medical services as well as deductible before the reimbursement. Managed care plans, on the other hand have lesser choice of hospitals and doctors, as well as lower out-of-pocket costs. California health insurance is marketed by individual as well as group policies. Individual policies are for people who: are not anyone’s dependents, do not get insurance from the employer or do not belong to any group or association that gives group health insurance. Group health insurance has some advantages over individual health insurance: the waiting period is only 6 months for preexisting conditions as compared to 1 year for the individual policies; large group health insurance is subject to medical underwriting; qualifying creditable coverage must be applied towards the six-month waiting period for preexisting conditions. Small group health insurance policies differ from large group health insurance policies in California. For small group policies, the coverage should be provided on a continued issue basis irrespective of any preexisting condition. California health insurance has another feature called Cal-COBRA, which is a California Law relating to extension of current group insurance when there is a qualifying event like termination of employment or reduction of hours from part-time to full-time. The extension period is 36 months. For Cal-CORBA to be applicable, the group policy must be in force with 2-19 employees covered on a minimum of 50% of the working days during the preceding calendar year or the preceding calendar quarter. Cal-COBRA is applicable to only indemnity policies, PPOs, and HMOs. It does not apply to individual health insurance policies and self-insured plans. It however, covers church plans. Cal-COBRA is regulated by the CDI and the DMHC, depending on the type of coverage. California offers special insurance policies for those small employers (2-50 employees) as well as for those who do not qualify for insurance because of income restrictions or preexisting conditions. People who are not eligible for insurance under COBRA, Cal-COBRA or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) can purchase insurance under another special provision called Major Risk Medical Insurance Program (MRMIP). Other California health insurance policies are: Healthy Families Program (HFP), Access for Infants and Mothers Program (AIM), Pacific Health Advantage (PacAdvantage), and other Supplemental Health Insurance Policies. California Health Insurance provides detailed information on California Health Insurance, California Health Insurance Quotes, California Health Insurance Plans, California Health Insurance Policies and more. California Health Insurance is affliated with Arizona Health Insurance Quotes.