There have been a lot of changes recently in the federal government's health policy. These federal health care changes are impacting the health insurance industry by what they are required to offer as well as some of the expenses that they pass on to their policy holders. Understanding these changes can help you to find better rates on your health insurance.

In 2010, Congress passed the Affordable Care Act. Each year, more things are added or changed, with the largest of the changes taking place in 2014. These federal health care changes include increasing the legal dependent age to 25 as well as requiring some preventative care to be included in insurance plans free of cost to the policy holder.

The various changes have forced the health insurance industry to re-structure some of its policies. When the preventative care policy was enforced, the insurance companies were no longer allowed to require a co-pay for these services. This means the company would be required to cover these costs completely on its own.

The health insurance companies, as a result, have increased many of their premiums over the past year in order to balance those expenses. So, while policy holders no longer have to pay a co-pay for those services, they are still paying for them in one way or another due to higher premiums paid out every month.

There have been other enhancements to coverage also. The ability for young adults to stay on their parents' plan until the age of 25 has been of tremendous help to many. This allows students to focus on school and obtaining a good job before they have to worry about getting their own medical plan. It can also save parents the money of buying them a separate policy when they go off to college.

Some of the other federal health care changes are yet to phase in. There is currently talk that Medicare will be adjusted because of the way it is currently structured. The presidential election may also have a dramatic effect on the various changes. If health care loses some of the current funding, the price of insurance could increase even more.

The insurance industry is based on making profits. The more that health care costs increase, the more that companies have to pay. Since they still want to make a profit, companies turn around and send those price increases out to their customers in the form of premium adjustments. Customers then have two choices - cancel the insurance or pay the higher monthly premiums. Mandated changes in health policy by the federal government have a direct effect on what the insurance industry does.