And if the smoker who is not covered by a group plan cannot obtain or afford individual coverage, the rest of us pay for it.

Offers you low group rates, even for individual coverage.

Check with your State insurance commissioner's office if you are interested in obtaining individual coverage.

(The monthly cost for an individual with group coverage in 1999 was about $170.)

Neither bill would limit the premiums that could be charged for such individual coverage.

This office can also help identify an insurance company that offers individual coverage.

Some states require employers to offer conversion policies, in which people stay with their insurance company but buy individual coverage.

For the people with individual coverage, however, the vagaries of politics seemed secondary to the relief that the huge increases would not go through.

Homeowners who have stayed in place for a decade or more should also consider valuable contents that may now require individual coverage.

Everybody else who has individual coverage ends up getting hurt.