Heath Insurance recommendations?

sweet pea

Currently we don't have family health insurance here in the US.

Could you please recommend a good company/plan that deals with the self-insured?

Mad Sweeney

You mean you don't trust Obamacare to keep you healthy?

I wish it wasn't the case but the most feasible way to get insured is to get a government job. Paying for your own health insurance without any sort of group plan is going to be cost prohibitive unless you are quite wealthy.

SnakesInTheTower

i used ehealthinsurance dot com to compare rates and policies. I ended up getting a temp (bridge) plan until I chose a permanent individual plan ...ehealthinsurance connected me to a major provider, Aetna. The ehealth people were knowledgeable...licensed insurance agents.

It is expensive. I have a $3,000 annual deductible plus copays... so I have to pay out of pocket for everything since I dont go to the doc much. What it does do is you pay the contracted rate to the providers instead of the rack (highest..uninsured) rate. Provider submits to insurance, insurance makes the contracted adjustment, tells provider to send you the remaining bill (if you havent met the deductible).

I pay $175 month.... it keeps going up though I have few claims. Cant get my fiancee on a family plan because of pre-existing conditions. Have to get a plan through an employer to get her covered (she has soemthing else right now, which she hates, because she works for a living..but at least she is covered).

good luck navigating US health care.

Snakes (Rich )

I quit!

I have Kaiser Permante. I have had it for over 20 years. I know it works because my wife has had several major illness. The nice thing is your not dealing horrors of trying to get the insurance company to pay the doctors and your not dealing with separate billing for each doctor or treatment you recieve. I don't know how much it cost when it isn't through a company. I have had it that way before but that was years ago when I lost my job and had to keep it for my wife because no one else would cover her.

Too bad we haven't been able to get a single payer program here that would cover everyone. I don't know if it will ever happen. The insurance companies have to much of a hold on the politicians and are powerful enough to convice large percentage of the population that what we have now is the best in the world. (sorry about the rant)

scotinsw

$2000 a year for one person! Thats about £1300! Makes me grateful for the NHS here in the UK.

gubberningbody

We used Golden Rule...

http://www.goldenrule.com/

AGuest

I wish it wasn't the case but the most feasible way to get insured is to get a government job. Paying for your own health insurance without any sort of group plan is going to be cost prohibitive unless you are quite wealthy.

Hmmmm... I haven't found either of these to be true, dear MS (the greatest of love and peace to you!)... and I think a LOT depends on what state you live in. I live in Cali and neither my husband nor I work for the governement and our insurance is just as good (even better, in my case, and I work for a TINY non-profit!). My 28-year-old son, who has a "pre-existing condition" that required 8 weeks in the ICU when he was 10 (and will be with him all of his fleshly life)... pays $80/month. Sure, he chose a higher (mid-range) deductible ($3,500), but he can always make payments if he has to. I would much rather him have a medical bill of $3,500... that a credit card bill of that amount.

On the other hand, self-insured health insurance CAN be cost prohibitive, depending on your income and where you live, and if that's the case, then Obamacare would be a blessing, would it not, or the closest thing to it given the way things are currently run in the U.S.? Something to consider.

The einsurance website is pretty good, dear SweetPea (peace to you, as well!)... and allows you to compare plans, as dear Snakes states. Depending on your household income... and, again, where you live (which is state 'thang, so don't blame Mr. Obama... or Mr. Bush)... for example, in California... you might qualify for Medi-Cal under the "Share of Cost" program (where they designate a monthly "deductible" based on your annual household income and so can be as much as $300-$400 for, like, a family of 4 with an annual income of $65,000)... BUT... you only pay it for the months in which you actually USE the program.

May your "hunt" be a HAPPY... and successful one!

Again, peace to you both!

A slave of Christ,

SA

coffee_black

I have insurance through my company with Harvard Pilgrim. The cost to me is about $150. a month. No illnesses... I've actually never had to use it except for a couple of routine check ups...

Be carefull about the government plan.... here in Mass, if you have Mass health, and you run up a large medical bill... and should you die, they will come after the estate to pay it back. So, make sure to read the fine print...

I would not recommend Aetna. My daughter had to fight tooth and nail for them to pay for my granddaughter's hospital bill when she was seriously injured a year ago (rode her bike face first into a tree) They tried to put it off to an auto accident, and refused to pay. There was no car involved. My daughter was being sued for all the medical expenses by the hospital in spite of having coverage. The bill was over a million dollars. It was finally resolved, but they made her life miserable for months.

Coffee

Heartbreaker

I sell a LOT of GoldenRule, and Assurant. Aetna has good pricing, but I don't like them as a company. Blue Cross doesn't have to put you in a pool with people in your own state, which makes you vulnerable for cancelation. If they decide to cancel you because of a claim, you could find yourself now uninsurable.

Three important things to look for with self insurance.

1) How large is my group (Obviously a group of 4 will be cancelled faster than a group of 6K)

2) What is the rating for my insurance company as far as stability of company and claims paid

3) Do they have an accident rider? A lot of time the only reason you'll meet a higher deductible is for an accident or critical illness. Some companies (like Assurant) will have a Suite Solutions product that will be set to match your deductible.

Will you have to make payments if you have a 3k deductible? Then why not make it 10K, have longer payments, but lower monthly premium, and try to match your deductible with an accident rider.

jaguarbass

I started my working life in 1973 with Kaiser health insurance, I was a roofing subcontractor and had to buy my own

health care it was 100$ a month for me my wife and son, and it covered everything no deductables.

Gas was 32 cents a gallon, you could buy a new VW beatle for 1800$.

Then I started hearing talk that the rich were going to destroy the middle class and its been all down hill ever since.

I work for the state now people can buy family plans for about 175 a month but I hear when they use it they still owe the

hospitals and doctors 10,000$.

The insurance companies and US government owned by the insurance companies have pulled a Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer on

the American people.

Heath Insurance recommendations?

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