Health Insurance Info

you can join a co-op thru the farm beaureu i think, we meant to check into it b/c we are paying too much for blue cross. it's all such a racket really...

We recently purchased family Health Ins. thru Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC for our family of 4. I did the research on United Healthcare, CoventryOne, and Aetna. BCBS seemed to be the best for us - we are currently paying $487 for health and $114 for dental, and our deductible is high (5000). We are just not very sickly people, so it works fine for us. We chose the HSA instead of Advantage. You can put money into HSA and it's tax free and you pay your health bills with it. Advantage was a little cheaper. So far so good. If you go to www.bcbsnc.com you can pick from several plans to compare and get a better idea. UHC was very pricy. I didn't know of anyone with CoventryOne Insurance to look closer into them. Good Luck! K.

Hi D.- We purchased our health insurance through ehealthinsurance.com If you prefer to go through a broker you can still use this site to compare different plans so you have more information on what you need your plan to cover. They also have phone #s you can call for help if you need anything explained to you. The most important things that we looked for were $$deductables and if our children's pediatrician was covered by that company---After checking all that we compared monthly premiums and co-pays. Just take your time and you will find the plan that suits your family. P.S. Don't worry about paying more on-line the prices for health insurance are strictly regulated and the cost should be the same on-line or a brooker.

I think those of us that do not have employer sponsored health insurance are all struggling with this. There is almost always too much month at the end of the money. Which plan is right for your family really depends on your age(s), income and and pre-existing conditions. Also something to consider is whether or not you plan to have more children. Most plans do not provide for maternity coverage unless you purchase it as a rider and in most cases there is still a 12-18 month waiting period so you have basically paid to have another baby before they ever pay a dime. The staple here in NC of course is BCBS but there are more affordable options out there but you really have to dig for them. Whatever you do DO NOT try to get health insurance online by filling in one of those ads. Those are marketing agencies that sell your info to insurance companies. Your phone will start ringing almost immediately and will not stop until you are at the brink of madness. Compare cost and benefits of BCBS and United Health Care. You could also try United American, they have affordable plans but not major medical, basic hospitalization and surgical. Avoid Mega Life and Health, terrible ratings.

I shopped for my family's health insurance at www.ehealthinsurance.com They compared prices and benefits to find what was best for our family. it was quick and easy.

Hello D.,

Did you end up finding a family health insurance plan? I am new to the Winston Salem area and we discovered (after already doing all the research prior to moving across country) that our health insurance cannot be accepted here as it is an HMO plan. So anyhow, I am also in the same boat with finding health insurance as neither my husband and I are employed. And to top things off I am expecting our second child.

If you have any advice, I would greatly appreciate it.

D.
There is a guy I have worked with alot in the past. You can check out his website www.getyourhealthinsurance.com
He is VERY well versed and super nice. Best of luck with the insurance mess, yuck!

Sometimes it can be cheaper to buy individual insurance plans for each member of your family instead of purchasing one policy for the whole family.

Just a couple of ?'s to help me understand your question.
1. Are you loosing coverage you have now? or are you buying insurance because you have none?
2. Are you and your family ones who use the Dr a lot?

if you are loosing coverage- do not purchase the cobra. It is very expensive and you can go to a local benefits company and buy insurance as a catastropic plan or a plan with a high deductible and pay little to nothing. We did that when my husband switched his job and the benefits did not start up for 3 months. It was $256 a month but it was a catastrophic plan meaning we paid if we used it. The $256 was actually lower than we paid per month already so it was okay- we just had to to be very careful and not get hurt.
I hope this helps you- I also use to be a benefits specialist so I know benefits well. Let me know if I can help you out any more.
T.

D.,
You don't say where you're located, or I'd give you the contact info for mine (in middle TN), but the best thing you can do is establish a relationship with a GOOD health insurance broker (not simply an agent). Brokers are able to look at the entire spectrum of what's available from all the companies out there, and customize a plan to suit your needs. Also, if your family is young and healthy, you might want to explore a less expensive insurance plan and pair that with a "Health Savings Account." That way, you are putting money into an account - tax free - to pay for out of pocket expenses that are health related.
If it turns out that you are in or are moving to middle TN, let me know and I'll pass along the contact info for my broker. She's really excellent.

Good luck on your search.
C.

I am an insurance/billing specialist at a 30 physician (surgeon) practice in Charlotte, NC. I will be happy to help answer any question you may have. Is your question about different companies or what type plan is right for your family? Email me at ____@____.com and I will try and help. Thanks!

I recently went from full time w/benefits to part time w/o benefits at work and had to make the same decision. I chose Blue Cross Blue Shield for both the baby and I. They were the cheapest and I know that it is a reliable company. Good Luck!

Great question. My family is also struggling with this issue. Insurance through my husband's company would cost us $1000 a month and isn't even that great of coverage! So we opted not to get it. We just pay for doctor's visits out of pocket. But the scary part is if something major happened to any of us. Also, i've come across the problem that i can't sign my kids up for organized sports because for registration they require proof of health insurance! Thanks for your help on this.

I just did this last week!! Not sure where you are located........but I purchased Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC. The plan was called Blue Advantage. They have many to choose from and the rates were outragous. You can tailor it specifically for your needs and you get the same rate if you go online or through an agent. I went through an agent and she was very helpful. If you want more info I could email you the name of my agency located in Gastonia, NC.