Health Insurance Mags Need Help

[Billy]

Found out today I have no health insurance. Employer cancelled, called Blue Choice Care First, insurance would go from $218.00 to $664.00 per month. Notified today, but to cover gap they would go back to 6/30/06 and charge for last month and this month. Single, non-smoker, no on going health issues looking for a high deductible with more or less catastrophic coverage. If anyone can help I live in VA and am 40 years old. Thanks any help would be huge!

[4matic]

Found out today I have no health insurance. Employer cancelled, called Blue Choice Care First, insurance would go from $218.00 to $664.00 per month. Notified today, but to cover gap they would go back to 6/30/06 and charge for last month and this month. Single, non-smoker, no on going health issues looking for a high deductible with more or less catastrophic coverage. If anyone can help I live in VA and am 40 years old. Thanks any help would be huge!

My brother uses a high deductable plan. He has to pay the first $3k per year out of pocket and then his insurance kicks in.

[Conundrum]

Best advice would be finding a local agent to help. Laws and carriers vary from state to state so someone with some local experience would help. One good place to start would be www.nahu.org or the VA dept. of insurance.

$665 is expensive but it's all relative. Regional rates are based on a lot of things and your area may be more expensive than others. One option would be an HSA style plan.

Feel free to pm with any specifics.

Oh yeah, welcome JONG. Go read meet the minions and all will become clear.


http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=20100

[avacadotoast]

So you're looking for individual coverage in Virginia...

Here's a link
http://www.scc.virginia.gov/division...nscoverage.htm
- the pdf and word document links you see on the page will give you a list of ALL of the indivdual carriers in the State.

Just be careful and before you pull the trigger on a policy read all of the plan "exclusions and limitations" - individual plans are generally cheap for a reason - they tend to have a lot of things they don't cover on top of your deductible - ask Dromond if you want to hear an "almost" horror story....

...my guess is that you don't need to get your coverage retroactive to when your group policy ended - just sign up going forward...the only issue is if you get group coverage through an employer in the near future and you had more than a 63 day lapse then you might have to prove any medical conditions are not pre-existing to before that lapse of coverage...I don't think it'll be an issue with you.

HSA plans, to my knowledge, are not for individual coverage and really they are just a high deductible plan coupled with an employer sponsered savings account to cover medical expenditures that fall under the deductible. The only benefit of an HSA is the tax savings and being an individual I don't think the laws allow you to use pre-tax dollars to build up a 'Health Savings Account'...

[Conundrum]

HSA plans, to my knowledge, are not for individual coverage and really they are just a high deductible plan coupled with an employer sponsered savings account to cover medical expenditures that fall under the deductible. The only benefit of an HSA is the tax savings and being an individual I don't think the laws allow you to use pre-tax dollars to build up a 'Health Savings Account'...

Individual vs. employer sponsored plans have the same benefits. To open the savings account and get the tax advantage, you have to have an HSA compliant plan. There are individual plans out there. You might be thinking of an HRA.

[Theodore]

I checked out ehealthinsurance.com and found a plan with BCBS for $64 a month. It was supposed to be $55, but they bumped it cause I've torn 1 knee to shit and had a go with Lyme Disease. Good luck!

[TyWebb]

Some good info in this thread.

[avacadotoast]

Individual vs. employer sponsored plans have the same benefits. To open the savings account and get the tax advantage, you have to have an HSA compliant plan. There are individual plans out there. You might be thinking of an HRA.

No I was thinking HSA....I know the compliant HDHP plan rules and all that, I just thought the tax laws and such weren't in place to have a pre-tax HSA for individuals...kind of like how you can't do a pre-tax 401k except through your employer...then again I've only worked for group insurers so I could definitely be wrong...

edit: just looked it up...you're right...HSA's for individuals are AOK...

[Dromond]

I checked out ehealthinsurance.com and found a plan with BCBS for $64 a month. It was supposed to be $55, but they bumped it cause I've torn 1 knee to shit and had a go with Lyme Disease. Good luck!

Just please don't make my mistake: http://tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55405

[mnflyfish]

In addition I would check with your state dep of economic security with regards to when and how a employer can cancel insurance, and what notice they need to give. In Minnesota, if your company has more than 25 employees you must carry health insurance. If your policy was canceled, without giving you notice, then I would bet the company would be on the hook for the payments dating back to when the canceled the policy, and I would also push this issue with BCBS. The fact that you were not notified by either your employer or the insurance company is messed up. In Minnesota, the law is very clear and they, the employer and the ins company must give you notice, and offer you cobra benefits that go into effect 30 days from the last payment to the insurer.

For what this is going to cost you, I would make a huge stink about this.

Good Luck,
Jay

[mrw]

www.fortis.com

great short term insurance

www.ehealthinsurance.com

great comparative shopping

www.move to canaucastan

[mnflyfish]

www.fortis.com

great short term insurance

www.ehealthinsurance.com

great comparative shopping

www.move to canaucastan

I bought the Fortis high dedutable instead of cobra when I left a job a few years ago, it was great. I got six months of insurance for the price of one month of cobra, and all my kids wellness visits were covered.

Good Luck,
Jay

[Billy]

Thanks mags for your help!