Buying own health insurance in Michigan -- any suggestions and prices?

[Krischaser]

Hi we are a family of five and we are going to have to buy are own health insurance and I don't know where to start or how much it will cost. We live in Michigan. Anyone have any good policies to recommend? How much do they costs. We have a 11, 6, and 2 year old. All boys. As with everyone else our funds are limited Thanks!

 

[DianeV]

I dont know how much it costs to purchase but we have HAP (Health Alliance Plan) and really like it. Usually from what I hear HMOs are cheaper then like Blue Cross..

 

[bear_mom]

Are your children eligable for the MIChild program - low cost state funded health care?

Emily

 

[mistysue]

I second looking into any free state programs for your children- they will likely give them better coverage than you could buy them and then you only have to cover adults.
HMO's can save you money, but if you plan to have it long-term you should know they can be scary to have if any major illnesses come up. I don't know how to find any kind of insurance for a reasonable price in Michigan, but I have been told that if any of you have pre-existing conditions for some reason Blue Cross/Blue Shield is better about taking people on and covering things. We also tend to have a lot of medical expenses and they are really great about covering all sorts of strange crap my kids seem to come down with. Our PPO plan with them is $1400/month,mostly paid by employer, and they spend more than that on us often.

 

[Colleen27]

I really don't have any advice, but I do with you luck in finding something you can manage. Health insurance is ridiculously expensive without a group and I don't think there's any way around that. We have a catastrophic/high deductible plan which costs us "only" $600/mo, goes up 15-20% a year, and has never paid out a dime on our behalf. If there is a better option out there I haven't found it, and we're at a stage of life with DH a few years past 40 that we don't dare risk a lapse in coverage no matter how unaffordable it is getting or how much it feels like throwing money away.

 

[Krischaser]

No we make a smidge over to make us not qualify. It just stinks I was hoping that we would for their sake. Health insurance is just rediculous and unfair!

 

[DianeV]

We are dealing with something quite expensive right now with our daughter and HAP. She tore her ACL in soccer and so far they have covered the x rays, MRI, doctor visits ($20 co-pay), physical therapy (8 visits so far), an ACL brace so she can play soccer for now with it, and we foresee not having to pay towards the actual surgery and aftercare plus more therapy in November which I know will be quite expensive.

Not lke catastrophic obviously but still going to be very expensive

 

[Krischaser]

Disneyv- would you recommend Hap? What plan is it? Thanks

 

[whois figment]

Not sure if you are self employed but if you are you can look at joining your local chambers of commerce. They typically have access to group rates.

 

[Krischaser]

No I'm not self employed

 

[3disfans]

Most Chambers of Commerce allow you to join as an individual, so you may still be able to join and get the group rate insurance. It's def worth a phone call.

 

[SYLVESTER7577]

Most Chambers of Commerce allow you to join as an individual, so you may still be able to join and get the group rate insurance. It's def worth a phone call.

I do also agree the call is worth it. The Chamber membership fee last I knew was at least $500.00 anually and that was some time ago. I had a small business that I closed. I chose (to be a member) the Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM) because it was less and had more benifits.

I will be in your same boat soon w/o coverage and looking to do the same. You may be able to use a DBA (Joe's Pillowcases) to get entry to either. It's $10.00 for five years for the DBA. Watch out for on line invitations for rates as they give up your information to everyone and calls plus email don't seem to end. Annoying at least.
If there are any pre existing issues Blue Cross may be your only option. My quess is that BC/BS is close to $2000.00 a month for a family plan but they also have several money saving????? options too.

 

[Krischaser]

No pre existing conditions---except I broke my leg almost two years ago. Would the Plan cover just me or whole family through chamber of commerence. We used to have a sea doo repair business.

 

[Kellydelly]

When my husband lost his job at the end of 08 I signed him and I up for Flexible Blue. It was not great coverage but for $220 a month it covered us for catastrophic events and kept our insurance from having a gap. Our kids were on Medicaid for that time period but we never used it (9 months).

http://www.bcbsm.com/myblue/ppo-flexible-blue.shtml

 

[SYLVESTER7577]

No pre existing conditions---except I broke my leg almost two years ago. Would the Plan cover just me or whole family through chamber of commerence. We used to have a sea doo repair business.

As mentioned in the post below yours, BC/BS has several optional plans. Weather the Chamber has all available I'm not sure. I also don't know if they have other providers either. I can't remember if SBAM did either. Call your chamber in your city and they surely could tell you quickly.

 

[mickeyplanner08]

Check with Priority Health. They have an online calculator that lets you plug in your options and get a ballpark idea of cost.

Our company switched to a HSA through them this year, and so far, so good. If you are relatively healthy (and it sounds like you are) this may be a viable option.

 

[JDUCKY]

www.ehealthinsurance.com

great way to get quotes from places like Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, United Healthcare (ugh), etc.

I've used that site twice (in different states) to purchase healthcare and had good policies (Cigna both times)

 

[DianeV]

Yes I would recommend HAP. We have had it for 20 years now with no problems at all. Not sure what kind of plans they offer as we get the one from my husband's work he retired from