Meeting information needs: Lessons learned from New Jersey's individual health insurance reform program.

At national and state levels, there have been significant changes in the re gulations governing individual and small group health insurance markets. Re forms to the individual health insurance market in New Jersey exemplify the challenges of informing consumers about changes in the regulation of insur ers, where the changes are intended to simplify and broaden access to healt h insurance. To best take advantage of expanded access to coverage under ne w regulations governing the individual health insurance market, individuals need to understand the changed rules under which carriers determine eligib ility and premiums. Survey results from New Jersey indicate, however, that a significant proportion of people who purchased policies under the restruc tured individual health insurance market did not fully understand how the n ew market operates.