A Look At Health Insurance Options
25 Jul 2009
When comparing health insurance quotes, make sure you are comparing similar plans. Health insurance comes in two basic forms – indemnity plans and managed care plans. Both indemnity and managed care health insurance are further broken down into several different types of health insurance so it is important to take the time and compare health insurance plans to determine what best fits your health care needs.
Indemnity Health Insurance
Indemnity health plans put you in charge of choosing your doctors, hospitals and other health care providers. You pay a set monthly premium and your health insurance pays your medical care, often after you pay a deductible and possibly a percentage of the bill.
A common employer-sponsored form of health insurance is a cafeteria or flexible spending plan. This type of health insurance allows employees to create a benefit package taken from a number of options. You need to contact the employee benefit department at your company for more information on the exact mix of choices available to you.
If you are looking for lower cost health insurance, a “basic and essential” plan may be the best option. Do keep in mind this type of health insurance is limited in what services may be covered so it is important to carefully read the policy so you understand what treatments the plan does cover. Another type of health insurance known as catastrophic health insurance or high-deductible health plans do just what it sounds like they would. The deductible is high, but this type of health insurance protects you against catastrophic illness with a very high total cost.
Health savings accounts are fairly new and an alternative to traditional health insurance. This plan involves putting money into a tax-free savings account to cover your medical expenses.
Managed Care Health Insurance
The two most common types of managed care health insurance are health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and preferred provider organizations (PPOs). HMOs give you access to a group of participating doctors, hospitals and health care providers. HMOs come with fewer out-of-pocket expenses, but visits to the doctor, prescriptions and other services usually come with a co-pay or fee.
PPOs are fee-for-service health insurance and medical services are paid by the insurer on a negotiated and discounted fee schedule. PPOs allow participants to choose medical providers outside the plan’s network, although this can result in higher out-of-pocket costs.
One other type of health insurance is point-of-service (POS) plans. This type of health insurance is similar to indemnity plans, and your primary care physician can refer you outside of the plan without any extra costs to the insured. If you refer yourself outside a POS plan you will be charged a co-pay.
Watch the video related to health insurance
pay a dime for her cancer treatment who had to use up her retirement funds to save her own life. This is about the middle-class college graduate from Maryland whose health insurance expired when he changed jobs, and woke up from emergency surgery with $10000 in debt. This is about every family, every business, and every taxpayer who continues to shoulder the burden of a problem that Washington has failed to solve for decades. This debate is not a game for these Americans, and they cannot …
Help answer the question about health insurance
What reputable health insurance companies are out there?My mom doesn't have health insurance and my job doesn't give insurance to family members.
I would like to pay monthly to a health insurance company so my mom could get health check up when she needs it.
Do you know any health insurance companies that can accept low monthly payments since I don't get paid that much?
We live in northern california.
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26 Responses to A Look At Health Insurance Options
foshea
July 25th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Copy France, copy Germany, copy Israel – it doesn’t matter who you copy just copy someone
rio180
July 25th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
You could elect COBRA (if available) or purchase an individual policy.
Since your options vary according to your state, the length of time you were covered under your group policy, and other factors, I suggest you contact your state's insurance commissioner's office, which can give you the best advice based on what's available.
orign8
July 25th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
There are a few ways to compare plans and rates before you find the most affordable plan for health insurance in the State of Washington.
You could look in the yellow pages under "health insurance" and contact a health insurance agent in your area who can give you quotes and review the plans available in your area. That way, if you have questions they can answer them for you before you decide.
Or, you could compare free, no obligation quotes for affordable health insurance plans online through a health insurance quote provider.
Two of the leading online health insurance quote services for the self-employed are:
1) InsureMe – they give you up to five free health insurance quotes from top-rated health insurers nationwide. To Request a free, no obligation quote, Go to – http://www.insureme.com/landing.aspx?ref...
2) eHealthinsurance.com offers you side-by-side quote comparisons from a large network of health insurers across the country. eHealthinsurance has more than 900,000 clients in the U.S.
Before you decide on a plan make sure to understand how the Co-Pay works. And, review all exclusions, including any Pre-Existing Conditions Exclusions.
Take the time to compare quotes at different deductible/Co-Pay amounts, you may be able to save some extra money that way.
Make sure to ask about any tax-deductions available to you for your self-employed health insurance premiums.
I hope that helps you find affordable health insurance in Washington.
atxballa13
July 25th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Jesus is king!
MeandProgressive
July 25th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
People pay up to their nose for Insurance Policies that refuse to pay — whats the point of buying it? There is nothing funny about death and an insurance company such as Progressive that REFUSES to honor their policy. Progressive is nothing more than a Ponzi Scheme in which the Corporate Executives get rich and leave injured policy holders bogus insurance policies which are not worth the paper they are written on. See Progressive Insurance Has Treated Me as Roadkill Don’t buy Progressive!
F33bs
July 25th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
So are you going to tell me that HR number, or not?
If not, I’ll just let you get back to writing shit nobody reads and/or cares about.
kuzco03
July 25th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
You should definitely go to United American Insurance, a great website that i have found is utahinsurancequotes.net it is a great way to have someone get information to you on being insured through United American. Plus not only do you have your choice of doctors but they will insure you for your previous conditions!!
F33bs
July 25th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Still waiting for that HR number.
Am I right to assume you don’t have it?
HRFF
July 26th, 2009 at 3:12 am
Stay away from health insurance companies that advertise on television. That just drives up your premium costs which amounts to borderline insanity for the customer. Keep your deductibles as high as you possibly can and that will keep your premiums low.
It sounds as if your husband's work fails to provide health insurance options. You might consider checking with local insurance agents who sell health insurance.
Shop around before you make a decision. Also learn to negotiate. Most American's negotiating skills are absolutely pathetic. Be bold enough to get a company to quote your coverage/premium and then call them back when someone else beats their offer. Keep calling them back until they say they can't go any lower. Always document who you spoke to and when so they are prevented from giving you the run-around.
kayleigh913
July 26th, 2009 at 5:01 am
You don't say how much you'll be paying to Minnesota Care, but I'll hazard a guess it's not much by the standards of what you'd pay for an individual policy.
So, that leaves the employer option. However, you may not be able to get coverage at work just because you want to. Were you offered health insurance as a benefit when you joined? Even if there's a health plan at work and you qualify, you'll most likely have to wait until what's known as the "open enrollment" period to get onto the plan if you initially declined it. The open enrollment period is a 30 day window at some time during the year (and there's no way to say when that 30 day window might be, you'll have to ask HR) during which you can elect or change benefit plans for any reason at all. To get added to the group plan otherwise, you have to have what's known as a "qualifying event" as defined by the group plan and there are very few events on that list. (And from memory, I don't believe your current situation would be viewed as a "qualified event.)
Go talk to your HR rep, because it's all in the details where these things are concerned.
jfpjd
July 26th, 2009 at 5:14 am
i lob u
Allison
July 26th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Unfortunately you are seeking a plan of coverage that no insurer is likely to offer. Maternity related medical expenses can be huge and the only way an insurer will cover those costs is by spreading the costs over many non-pregnant policyholders.
Since some people choose to go without maternity coverage (due to expense or inability to have children for example) many insurers make such coverage optional. However they cannot allow you to add such coverage on little notice. It just doesn't make business sense.
A few plans I have dealt with allow adding maternity coverage with at least one year's elimination period – you have to pay the added premium for at least one year before any maternity coverage would go into effect. Ask an independent insurance broker for details about such plans.
Depending upon your income level you may be able to receive assistance with maternity expenses through a state medicaid plan. Qualifying income leves are different for pregnany women.
Rita B
July 26th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Visiting the insurance company websites is a good place to start. Aetna.com, Cigna.com, Unitedhealthcareonline.com, and bcbs.com are a few of the major companies.
god3is6dumb
July 26th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Adam was not supposed to eat the Apple. This is a reference to China for they own Apple and own our debt because of George Bush Sr.
As a Democracy and christian nation it would seem to be Treason by law to allow a non religious communist country to buy our debt. This is the key.
justin
July 26th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
It really depends. You want to have the most benefit for the money. If you buy the AARP supplement for let's say, $100, but it doesn't cover any of the doctors they see regularly, they just wasted that $100. BUT, if another plan costs $250 and it covers every doctor they see for anything, then the extra $150 is WELL worth it!
My advice – do a little research. First check to make sure any doctor they see more than once a year is on the plan as a participating or preferred provider – that will reduce their out of pocket greatly. Then make sure it will cover anything else they need – if they have a condition that requires a yearly test – like a heart condition and a stress test – make sure that would be covered. It's all about getting the most for the money.
Good luck!!!
F33bs
July 26th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I’m sorry…Who started TARP and let Lehman Brothers fail? The Bush admin.
You still haven’t bothered to point me to the bill that Dodd and Frank stopped. Until then, your words are nothing but empty fluff.
god3is6dumb
July 26th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
I can read tells…I like poker and I sense true distress in Obama. Fear not GOD(general of defense) for the universe is infinite and we are all within it. They hate by competition of true peace so they create wars to kill who they see fit.
Dont blame Obama for nihilism and duality of man is to blame. You will suffer too in your utopia for your shrimp and fish will be nuclear.
Gordis
July 27th, 2009 at 2:15 am
healthplans.my-age.net – here is my health insurance plan. As I remember they can provide such a service.
Taylor B
July 27th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Depending upon your health status and location you should be able to get a good comprehensive policy for less than $1000 per month.
AARP writes their health insurance through United Health, which is a very good company and certainly worth a look. However, the policies have fewer benefits than most and the premium is nearly the same. You should visit a local independent agent. This person knows the market in your area and can compare the different plans (AARP included) and can suggest several plans that would be best for your situation.
Medicare is not available until you reach 65 unless you've been disabled for 2 years.
chris_az_74
July 27th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
You aren't stuck in your job, no.
What you need to do is first make sure that your current group coverage is subject to COBRA. (Most are, but not all, so it's an important thing to verify.)
If the group you're with now IS subject to COBRA, they'll have to offer you the option to keep your current coverage for up to 18 months. (You will have to pay 100% of the premiums and possibly also a 2% handling fee for the group to maintain you.)
At the end of that 18 months, as long as you do not allow more than a 63 day lapse in coverage, you will be able to apply to any individual plan as a HIPAA eligible individual (meaning that you do NOT have to fill out the health history info; under Federal law, they are obligated to take you.)
However, I will forewarn you that the rates you'll pay for the individual policy will be MUCH higher (possibly double) your group rates. (And you may not realize how much your current insurance actually costs, either, if your current employer is paying part of the premium.) This is because they presume that you do have some serious pre-existing conditions if you're applying under HIPAA (because you'd certainly take almost any other route if it were available to you.)
So, to answer your question, as long as you follow the rules, you can't be turned down, but you'd better hope that the pay increase in the new job is significant to offset the additional expense.
Anonymous
July 27th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
see this
http://free-health-quote.blogspot.com/
one form to get a number of quotes from different insurers. You can even bundle it with other insurance, good luck
Best Wishes,
The Caped Cryptid
July 27th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
younggb77
July 28th, 2009 at 5:29 am
#1 – always buy local. If you shop over the internet, you're likely to get scammed – you might not end up with an "insurance" product at all. A local agent will have competitive rates with real insurance products, and your "in network" emergency room won't be 300 miles away.
#2 – balance how often you see the doc with your premiums/deductibles. If you're pretty healthy and never visit the doc, you're probably better off with a major medical policy – which would leave more money in your pocket at the end of the year, while still keeping you covered in case of a major problem.
#3 – always check out the financial rating of a potential carrier with AM Best, and complaints with your local BBB, BEFORE buying.
OooSPGooO
July 28th, 2009 at 6:06 am
Americans should try to copy the french system, with their “securité sociale” ( which is free. )
BTW, i think that Mr Obama speaks a little bit to fast :p
Sethra Lavode
July 28th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
you can try humana i think they are nation wide i have me and my 2 kids on it and i only pay 120 a month and i am pregnant with my 3rd baby and the insurance covers all but 20%.
F33bs
July 28th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
You’re quite the broken record.
If you think I like Dodd, you’re wrong. However I dislike the Republicans who sat back and watched this all happen with smiles on their fat, chubby faces even more.
Republicans knew what would happen, and they counted on the fact that a lot of Democrats lack the backbone to actually stop things.
I like Dems who act like Dems, not Republicans.