Buyer beware in individual insurance market

The number of Californians purchasing their own medical coverage continues to rise, as fewer employers are offering group coverage. Consumer advocates are now making efforts to tighten regulation of the individual health insurance market, which they say is "rife with 'junk insurance' policies that provide minimum benefits, such as hospital-only coverage, and don't set limits on out-of-pocket expenses." And it is often impossible to determine what an individual plan covers, causing the insured to find out too late after running up thousands of dollars in medical costs.