Florida Health Insurance Consultants Needed For Best Rate Quote
Zane Durant
March 17, 2007
Jean Chatzky of Money Magazine said in a recent interview, "the leading cause of personal bankruptcy is not wasteful spending or reckless investing but unpaid medical bills. That’s surprising, but only until you consider that at any moment some 40 million Americans are without health insurance and another 40 million have experienced a gap in coverage sometime over the past two years."
Q: WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?
A: With the slow economy, some employers — particularly small ones — are faced with a choice, they can cut jobs or they can cut benefits. Many, for understandable reasons, opt to cut the latter. If you are laid off, you can often maintain your health coverage for up to 18 months through your former employer’s plan under a law called COBRA (the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act). But at an average $600 a month, it’s also expensive. The good news is, if you’re in reasonably good health it’s getting easier to find affordable health insurance on your own — particularly online.
Q: ANY TIPS TOWARD FINDING AFFORDABLE HEALTH INSURANCE?
A: Start on the web -- According to comparisons, a healthy family of four (thirty-something parents and school-age kids) can get a major-medical plan — with a $1,000 annual family deductible and co-payments of $30 per doctor’s visit and $10 for generic drugs — for about $400 a month.The price falls to $200 a month with a $5,000 deductible. A healthy 30-year-old single male can pay about $160 a month, or $50 with the higher deductible. You’ll have to go through medical underwriting, answering health questions and opening up your medical records. Depending on what’s there, an insurer may want to charge a higher rate or exclude existing conditions. In such cases, COBRA might be the best deal after all.
Q: Who Would Consider Short-term Coverage?
A: If your employment prospects are good, you may want a bridge for, say, six months. Short-term policies are cheaper because they exclude coverage for existing medical conditions and reimburse a smaller percentage of your costs. Besides eHealthInsurance.com, go to Fortis Insurance (Fortishealth .com), the leader in this part of the market.
"Take your web quotes to a professional health insurance consultant such as Florida Health Insurance Web." They are online at www.FloridaHealthInsuranceWeb.com
"An agent can assess your needs, explain complex policy riders and sometimes get you a better deal." (Some insurers aren’t in online databases.) You can search for agents in your area through the National Association of Health Underwriters at the web site: www.nahu.org.
Many institutional and professional groups, including alumni associations, offer well-priced coverage to members. But don’t assume that your group has chosen a good company. "Before signing up with any insurer, see whether its customers lodge a lot of complaints": go to “Consumer Information Source” at www.naic.org, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners site.
To check quality ratings go to: www.ncqa.org - the National Committee for Quality Assurance site. And before using an insurer based out of state, ask your state’s insurance department whether you’ll be protected if the company tries to raise your premium but not those of other policyholders.
In the Wall Street Journal had a front-page story on health insurance policies that are very cheap ($10 a week) but only cover up to $1,000 of expenses. The story noted how easy it is for these policies to leave you stranded if you have a serious health problem. Instead, you’ll be better off not skimping but rather buying the broadest coverage you can afford. "Cut costs, if you must, by raising your deductible" but not by curtailing coverage for such things as outpatient hospital services, which can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Chatzky said, "Some feel very strongly that this country needs a national health plan." 40 million people are without health insurance, and something has to be done.
Some financial experts agree, but in the meantime people are going to have to take care of themselves. There are many sorts of policies out there — short term, long term, Cobra for people who get laid off — hopefully the eHealth site can help people find a policy that works for them.
Q: WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?
A: With the slow economy, some employers — particularly small ones — are faced with a choice, they can cut jobs or they can cut benefits. Many, for understandable reasons, opt to cut the latter. If you are laid off, you can often maintain your health coverage for up to 18 months through your former employer’s plan under a law called COBRA (the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act). But at an average $600 a month, it’s also expensive. The good news is, if you’re in reasonably good health it’s getting easier to find affordable health insurance on your own — particularly online.
Q: ANY TIPS TOWARD FINDING AFFORDABLE HEALTH INSURANCE?
A: Start on the web -- According to comparisons, a healthy family of four (thirty-something parents and school-age kids) can get a major-medical plan — with a $1,000 annual family deductible and co-payments of $30 per doctor’s visit and $10 for generic drugs — for about $400 a month.The price falls to $200 a month with a $5,000 deductible. A healthy 30-year-old single male can pay about $160 a month, or $50 with the higher deductible. You’ll have to go through medical underwriting, answering health questions and opening up your medical records. Depending on what’s there, an insurer may want to charge a higher rate or exclude existing conditions. In such cases, COBRA might be the best deal after all.
Q: Who Would Consider Short-term Coverage?
A: If your employment prospects are good, you may want a bridge for, say, six months. Short-term policies are cheaper because they exclude coverage for existing medical conditions and reimburse a smaller percentage of your costs. Besides eHealthInsurance.com, go to Fortis Insurance (Fortishealth .com), the leader in this part of the market.
"Take your web quotes to a professional health insurance consultant such as Florida Health Insurance Web." They are online at www.FloridaHealthInsuranceWeb.com
"An agent can assess your needs, explain complex policy riders and sometimes get you a better deal." (Some insurers aren’t in online databases.) You can search for agents in your area through the National Association of Health Underwriters at the web site: www.nahu.org.
Many institutional and professional groups, including alumni associations, offer well-priced coverage to members. But don’t assume that your group has chosen a good company. "Before signing up with any insurer, see whether its customers lodge a lot of complaints": go to “Consumer Information Source” at www.naic.org, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners site.
To check quality ratings go to: www.ncqa.org - the National Committee for Quality Assurance site. And before using an insurer based out of state, ask your state’s insurance department whether you’ll be protected if the company tries to raise your premium but not those of other policyholders.
In the Wall Street Journal had a front-page story on health insurance policies that are very cheap ($10 a week) but only cover up to $1,000 of expenses. The story noted how easy it is for these policies to leave you stranded if you have a serious health problem. Instead, you’ll be better off not skimping but rather buying the broadest coverage you can afford. "Cut costs, if you must, by raising your deductible" but not by curtailing coverage for such things as outpatient hospital services, which can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Chatzky said, "Some feel very strongly that this country needs a national health plan." 40 million people are without health insurance, and something has to be done.
Some financial experts agree, but in the meantime people are going to have to take care of themselves. There are many sorts of policies out there — short term, long term, Cobra for people who get laid off — hopefully the eHealth site can help people find a policy that works for them.
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