Julie Houston recently canceled an appointment to get her teeth cleaned. She skipped the eye doctor and her annual physical, too.

The 56-year-old Delaware resident has been without health insurance for about a year.

She can't afford it.

"I live in constant fear that I am going to get sick," Houston said. "You kind of walk around with your fingers crossed and hope you don't break your leg or anything."

Houston is hopeful that little-noticed provisions tucked into the new $50.5 billion state budget will help her find health insurance she can afford.

New requirements for insurance companies and business in the two-year spending plan could help nearly 100,000 uninsured adults obtain coverage, said Carly Glick, spokeswoman for the state Department of Insurance.

Under the new law:

• Insurance companies are limited in how much they can charge people with diabetes, cancer and other chronic conditions who purchase individual health policies. The cap would be 1 1/2 times the lowest rate charged to a person of similar age and gender and is expected to reduce premiums by at least 50 percent. The cap applies only to the individual health-insurance market, not employer group plans.

• Insurers must allow parents with employer-sponsored health insurance to purchase coverage for their children up to age 28. It's now 24.

• Employers must offer uninsured employees the opportunity to purchase coverage with pre-tax dollars, saving about 40 percent off premiums by reducing the income taxes employees pay.

Every week, nearly 1,200 people in Ohio lose their health insurance, according to a new study by Families USA, a Washington organization that champions comprehensive health-care changes.

The report concludes that the rising costs of health-insurance premiums are the single most important factor in the increase of the uninsured. But heavy job losses from the recession are "contributing to the problem."

The average family premium climbed from $5,791 in 1999 to $12,680 in 2008, far outpacing the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, the study says.

The report predicts that 184,730 Ohioans will lose their health insurance between 2008 and 2010. But it does not include people who have gained insurance through that same period either through their job or buying a policy on their own.

About 1.2 million Ohio adults were uninsured in 2008, the latest figure available. That's 17 percent of people ages 18 to 64.

That's up from 15 percent in 2004 and attributed in large part to lost jobs and employer-sponsored insurance, said William D. Hayes, president of the Health Policy Institute of Ohio.

The uninsured rate for adults was highest, he said, among those ages 18 to 24.

Hayes' remarks came yesterday at the opening meeting of the Ohio Health Care Coverage and Quality Council, a new panel that will advise the governor and lawmakers on improving health care and coverage.

The 34-member council includes representatives from government, business, consumer-advocacy groups and health-care providers and will issue recommendations annually.

Houston lost coverage two years ago when she lost her job. She bought insurance on her own, paying about $350 a month, until she exhausted her savings and had to stop.

"The policy I had did not have extensive coverage like what a lot of people are used to having," she said. "There were many deductibles and it was hard to know what was being covered and what wasn't."

The governor is expected to sign the budget in the next few days, and the new requirements will take effect immediately.

Jack Torry of the Dispatch Washington Bureau contributed to this story.

ccandisky@dispatch.com