I am currently uninsured and starting a new job that offers health insurance coverage. Do they have to cover me?

Not necessarily. Some employers offer group health insurance, but only to a certain levels of employees, such as managers. Other employers offer it to all full-time workers but not part-time workers. However, you must be offered group health insurance if other employees like you receive it.

Even if you are eligible for group health, you still might have to sit out a waiting period before coverage kicks in.

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The big benefit to group health insurance coverage is cost. Since risk is spread among your co-workers, group coverage will generally have lower premiums than individual coverage. Another advantage is health insurers can't reject you for pre-existing health conditions when you have group coverage. Employers usually pay the majority of your premium. However, you’ll probably need to pay a greater share of, or perhaps the entire, premium for family members.

The downside of group health insurance is that rates can increase even if you don’t make a claim. In addition, your employer will decide what benefits will be included in your plan. Your employer may also decide to change insurance companies or reduce coverage from one year to the next in order to cut costs.

If your employer doesn't offer coverage or you have to pay a large share of the premium, consider buying individual health insurance. In some cases, it may be less expensive to buy an individual policy than to pay the premium for group coverage.

Fully insured group health plans must abide by state benefit mandates. Employers that are self-insured are subject to federal law. Most very large companies self-insure, which means they pay the claims themselves, although they often hire insurance companies to administer the plans.

Learn more about the basics of group health insurance.