Individual health policies fall short, study finds

More than half of all medical insurance policies sold to individuals now fail to meet the standards of coverage set by the federal healthcare law under review by the Supreme Court, a new study says. The law would significantly improve the quality of coverage for individuals in several ways, the researchers concluded. Insurers would be required, for example, to limit how much people pay toward their own medical bills, even if they have a chronic and expensive condition. Insurers would also have to provide a comprehensive set of benefits and cover pre-existing medical conditions. The study was published online Wednesday in Health Affairs.