Beware agents pushing health insurance portability; transparency gaps persist

Health insurance is like a promise to help pay for doctor visits when you get sick.

A rule called portability lets you change from one insurance company to another without losing all your old benefits.

This means you keep the time you already waited and the bonus you earned for not making claims.

But some insurance salespeople are using this rule in unfair ways.

They can get paid money for convincing you to switch companies, even when it is not good for you.

Sometimes they sell you a whole new plan and pretend it is just a switch.

You might not notice until you get sick and ask for money back.

The office in charge of insurance rules is not sharing enough information.

No one knows how often switching causes problems for customers.

So it is smart to be careful and not switch just because a salesperson tells you to.