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Where to Look For Health Insurance

by sree94
8 replies
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I plan on quitting my J.O.B. soon, so I need some advice on where to look for health insurance.

FYI-- I live in California. No pre-existing conditions
  • Profile picture of the author garyv
    I feel a large health care bill debate a comin around the bin.... - Moderators on your marks...
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    • Profile picture of the author khushee
      1. The easiest thing is to go on COBRA.

      Federal COBRA = Gives you 18 months of coverage under your companies group coverage from the date you leave your company. You do have to pay 100% of the premium + a small admin cost (which is determined by your company). Ask your company what your costs will be under Fed COBRA. You have a grace period to enroll in this (I think it is 60 days or something like that - not too sure about this timeframe).

      The thing with COBRA is that you don't have to go through underwriting and things will continue as is.

      2. Your other option is to search in the individual market. The biggest pain with this is that you have to go through underwriting which requires that you fill in a long application form and tell them about every doctor you have visited in the last 5 to 10 years - the reason for the visit, the diagnosis and the results.

      You can either find a broker who will help you or you can apply directly with a provider.

      ehealthinsurance.com is an online broker that people say is good (I haven't used them).

      I applied directly with Blue Shield of California and got approved for the plan and premium I wanted.
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      • Profile picture of the author sree94
        Originally Posted by khushee View Post

        1. The easiest thing is to go on COBRA.

        Federal COBRA = Gives you 18 months of coverage under your companies group coverage from the date you leave your company. You do have to pay 100% of the premium + a small admin cost (which is determined by your company). Ask your company what your costs will be under Fed COBRA. You have a grace period to enroll in this (I think it is 60 days or something like that - not too sure about this timeframe).

        The thing with COBRA is that you don't have to go through underwriting and things will continue as is.

        2. Your other option is to search in the individual market. The biggest pain with this is that you have to go through underwriting which requires that you fill in a long application form and tell them about every doctor you have visited in the last 5 to 10 years - the reason for the visit, the diagnosis and the results.

        You can either find a broker who will help you or you can apply directly with a provider.

        ehealthinsurance.com is an online broker that people say is good (I haven't used them).

        I applied directly with Blue Shield of California and got approved for the plan and premium I wanted.
        When I go on COBRA, if I decide to stay with my current provider when COBRA runs out, will I have to go through underwriting at that point?

        Actually, I have been to a doctor once in the last 10 years, so I shouldn't be too concerned about getting approved for coverage
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        • Profile picture of the author khushee
          Originally Posted by sree94 View Post

          When I go on COBRA, if I decide to stay with my current provider when COBRA runs out, will I have to go through underwriting at that point?
          Yes you will. COBRA coverage gives you group coverage. When you run out of it, then you will have to get insurance in the individual market - you will have to go through underwriting.

          One thing I forgot is that if your current employer is based out of CA (incorporated I think), then you might actually be able to get an additional 18 months of CAL-COBRA. In effect you could potentially stay on 36 months of COBRA coverage.

          Originally Posted by sree94 View Post

          Actually, I have been to a doctor once in the last 10 years, so I shouldn't be too concerned about getting approved for coverage
          You are correct. You probably shouldn't be too concerned about getting approved. Look into HSA plans, they might work for you - they are high deductible but low premiums.

          It takes about 4 to 6 weeks for the underwriting process (depending on the insurance company). Also I think they let you postdate the effective date of your insurance policy (Blue Shield of CA does). So you could apply
          with a post dated effective date as soon as you know your last date at work. If the application goes through great. If it doesn't, since you have a grace period to join COBRA, you could then opt for it if for some reason you can't get insurance on the individual market.

          There are also groups like the Chamber of Commerce etc that help members get insurance.
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          • Profile picture of the author vistahealth
            Hi All, just want to share this with you about the COBRA, copy-pasted from nyhealthinsurer.com

            COBRA is a federal law that stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act. This is a bill that became a law in the year 1986. It relates to the right of people laid off from a job to continue to be covered by the employer provide health benefits. They did have to pay for the insurance, but they did have the option of purchasing this coverage. Prior to the law if an employee or family member was ill they would face the risk of not being able to get other insurance. Therefore this legislation enable the worker faced with a lay off to still have a chance to have health insurancefrom your former employer. This was not a type of coverage that would last forever. The amount of type you could keep the health insurance was based on number of factors that relate to health and why you loss your job. For more specifics on that part you can visit one of the web sites that provide the specific details in regards to what type of issues do impact your continued coverage. And they can give you the items that are identified by the nature of your given need and your qualifications.

            The one thing that does remain a constant for everyone in those situations is that the former employee does have to pay for the complete cost of any coverage. This can be a substantial amount when the employer is not longer sharing part of the burden. And that is what the recent changes in the laws helped to augment. With the changes there is a subsidy available to help with this cost. You may be eligible for approximately 35 per cent of the cost to be covered under these changes. In addition there have been certain relevant aspects that have been affected in terms of how long you can continue to keep the insurance. So that will mean, depending on your qualifications, you could have a great amount of time to still be covered. To get the exact details on that part it is best to visit the sites that explain all the facts about the COBRA laws. And they will cover the types of situations where the policy you have can be continued. It will indicate if you have to meet certain criteria to be eligible for a given period of continued coverage. They will also provide the answers to any questions that might come up about the COBRA law.
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  • Profile picture of the author KimW
    Cobra was a good idea that was implimented terribly.
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by KimW View Post

      Cobra was a good idea that was implimented terribly.
      Yeah, TELL ME ABOUT IT! You are NOT supposed to be fired due to age or illness, so there shouldn't be special admin costs, and the company should pay a bit for a time. Also, there should be a way for the insurance industry to transition into a similar plan.

      sree94,

      If you have employees, you COULD talk to ADP. They will make things easier, and have some good prices on insurance. I figured that the money saved, by not buying the jets the congress wanted, could pay for everyone's insurance in the US for a year, and STILL have change left over!

      If you DON'T have employees, you COULD check Kaiser. They are an HMO that is practically all over california, and are in several other states https://members.kaiserpermanente.org...ydirectory.htm

      The time to get it is NOW! Frankly, insurance is a bet AGAINST you! YOU bet you will have a problem, the insurance company bets you DON'T! THAT is why they don't cover pre-existing conditions. There IS a loophole in that if the problem existed while you were on insurance, and you have been without insurance for less than 90 days, they WILL cover you.

      I was healthy for a LONG time, and then BANG, I nearly had my aorta explode!

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author KimW
    Thanks for bring back a 6 month old tread.
    Now heres a clue, posts in the Off Topic forum don't count towards your post count.
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