Individual Healthcare Plan that's PRIVATE

[dfchelbay]

Hi everyone. I am looking for names & recommendations for private insurance (medical). I'm going to shop around for different options starting October 15th. I'm looking for names so that I can do the research myself & call them to see their rates. I know of BCBS, Aetna, United Health Care. What are some other companies you all are insured with for an individual plan?

I've been with Blue Cross for years, private individual plan, and it is time to look around and I want to compare other companies with my BCBS plan. I know rates are up in air right now, and that's alright, I'm just looking for names of carriers for reputable individual plans and, as well, those insurance carriers to steer clear of.

Thanks.

 

[4forMe]

I'm doing the same thing this month. We are self employed and therefore pay for our own family coverage. We also want to switch from BCBS. My friend who works at a major hospital in our area suggested we check out Humana. They have rates and similar plans to Aetna but offer much better coverage according to what she told me. I want to try to avoid the insurance on the state exchange at this point because it appears major medical centers are being excluded from our state's exchange plans.

 

[dfchelbay]

I'm doing the same thing this month. We are self employed and therefore pay for our own family coverage. We also want to switch from BCBS. My friend who works at a major hospital in our area suggested we check out Humana. They have rates and similar plans to Aetna but offer much better coverage according to what she told me. I want to try to avoid the insurance on the state exchange at this point because it appears major medical centers are being excluded from our state's exchange plans.

I just looked at Humana & they seem to be a bit more expensive than my BCBS. Least expensive I've found so far this morning is United Healthcare. I am remaining private as well. I'll let you know if I find any good info/name of carrier

 

[scrapquitler]

Hi everyone. I am looking for names & recommendations for private insurance (medical). I'm going to shop around for different options starting October 15th. I'm looking for names so that I can do the research myself & call them to see their rates. I know of BCBS, Aetna, United Health Care. What are some other companies you all are insured with for an individual plan?

I've been with Blue Cross for years, private individual plan, and it is time to look around and I want to compare other companies with my BCBS plan. I know rates are up in air right now, and that's alright, I'm just looking for names of carriers for reputable individual plans and, as well, those insurance carriers to steer clear of.

Thanks.

I live in CT and we have BLUECARE DIRECT thru Anthem BC/BS. its a PPO plan. We have 20 copay for doctors visits, 30 for specialists, $100 for emergency room visits, $1500 for hospitalization. Our medication plan is $20/30/$40 copay depending on the medication and it covers only up to $500 per person per year. It costs an arm and a leg (our payment is almost the same as our Mortgage payment). We are in our mid 40s and healthy, with no preexisting conditions.

I'm not sure if you can even shop for individual plans that are not part of the exchanges at the moment. I was just on the Anthem website the other day, and the pages with the individual direct pay plans were deactivated. I'm not quite sure what that means, but I can say that I wasn't able to see any plans listed. They were there just a couple months ago when I looked.

 

[scrapquitler]

Hi everyone. I am looking for names & recommendations for private insurance (medical). I'm going to shop around for different options starting October 15th. I'm looking for names so that I can do the research myself & call them to see their rates. I know of BCBS, Aetna, United Health Care. What are some other companies you all are insured with for an individual plan?

I've been with Blue Cross for years, private individual plan, and it is time to look around and I want to compare other companies with my BCBS plan. I know rates are up in air right now, and that's alright, I'm just looking for names of carriers for reputable individual plans and, as well, those insurance carriers to steer clear of.

Thanks.

I live in CT and we have BLUECARE DIRECT thru Anthem BC/BS. its a PPO plan. We have 20 copay for doctors visits, 30 for specialists, $100 for emergency room visits, $1500 for hospitalization. Our medication plan is $20/30/$40 copay depending on the medication and it covers only up to $500 per person per year. It costs an arm and a leg (our payment is almost the same as our Mortgage payment). We are in our mid 40s and healthy, with no preexisting conditions.

I'm not sure if you can even shop for individual plans that are not part of the exchanges at the moment. I was just on the Anthem website the other day, and the pages with the individual direct pay plans were deactivated. I'm not quite sure what that means, but I can say that I wasn't able to see any plans listed. They were there just a couple months ago when I looked.

 

[jana616]

We have United Healthcare through Golden Rule. They were the cheapest for us by about $100 per month. We pay $567 per month for myself (woman in mid-30s), and 3 kids under age 9. DH has his insurance paid through work, but they paid nothing for us and this was way cheaper. We had a $5,000 deductible, but it was reduced every year we didn't hit it, so this year our deductible was only $3,000. This year we did meet it (foot surgery for me and tubes for DS), and once we hit it, pretty much all medical expenses have been covered 100%, with the exception of prescriptions. I'm scared to see if premiums go up now, but hoping we can just stick with what we've got at around the same cost.

 

[pryncess527]

You can browse plans on the healthcare exchange starting tomorrow. The exchange is organized by the government, but it isn't government healthcare -- the exchange is full of private plans by private insurers like the ones listed here.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Hi everyone. I am looking for names & recommendations for private insurance (medical). I'm going to shop around for different options starting October 15th. I'm looking for names so that I can do the research myself & call them to see their rates. I know of BCBS, Aetna, United Health Care. What are some other companies you all are insured with for an individual plan?

I've been with Blue Cross for years, private individual plan, and it is time to look around and I want to compare other companies with my BCBS plan. I know rates are up in air right now, and that's alright, I'm just looking for names of carriers for reputable individual plans and, as well, those insurance carriers to steer clear of.

Thanks.

Haven't you heard of Obamacare?

 

[4forMe]

I just looked at Humana & they seem to be a bit more expensive than my BCBS. Least expensive I've found so far this morning is United Healthcare. I am remaining private as well. I'll let you know if I find any good info/name of carrier

Thanks for mentioning United Healthcare. They are not participating in our state's exchange program, and they are one of the largest insurance carriers in our state. I will be looking at their plans later this week.

 

[dfchelbay]

Thanks for your replies everyone. Keep them coming. As far as Obamacare goes, yes, of course, I have heard of it. I'm choosing to stay with the arrangement I have had since becoming self-employed...private individual insurance. I have far better coverage on an individual plan. I do know Obamacare is not government insurance. I have actually read the Affordable Care Act in it's entirety. With that said, I'm staying with private coverage.

 

[goodfood4ursoul]

T I have actually read the Affordable Care Act in it's entirety. With that said, I'm staying with private coverage.

Wow. How long did that take?

 

[dawnball]

Since companies are going to vary some by state (and occasionally within the state), you might try ehealthinsurance - the website should give you a list of potential companies without requiring too much personal information. Then you can choose to have them quote or to do your own pricing.

 

[bearzabout]

My partner and I lost our individual insurance through Blue Cross of Michigan due to Obamacare. They were great, affordable plans ($179/month for a 61 year old with a $1,000/ year deductible). The new plan Blue Cross has suggested we pick up has a $10,000 per year per person deductible in network. The killer is the out of pocket maximums each year. It is $27,000 per person or $54,000 for a family plan, on top of the premiums we have to pay. Obviously, this is insane.

Make sure to look at annual out of pocket maximums before choosing a policy.

I can't get on the website to check Obamacare prices, but I think we have reached the end of affordable health care for us and many others.

If anyone finds an affordable plan with low deductibles for 50 and 61 year olds, please let me know!

 

[Green Tea]

My partner and I lost our individual insurance through Blue Cross of Michigan due to Obamacare. They were great, affordable plans ($179/month for a 61 year old with a $1,000/ year deductible). The new plan Blue Cross has suggested we pick up has a $10,000 per year per person deductible in network. The killer is the out of pocket maximums each year. It is $27,000 per person or $54,000 for a family plan, on top of the premiums we have to pay. Obviously, this is insane.

Make sure to look at annual out of pocket maximums before choosing a policy.

I can't get on the website to check Obamacare prices, but I think we have reached the end of affordable health care for us and many others.

If anyone finds an affordable plan with low deductibles for 50 and 61 year olds, please let me know!

What caused you to lose your plan?

 

[lauradis]

What caused you to lose your plan?

Some insurance companies are stopping to offering plans most of those plans fall into what the government now calls "Cadillac Plan"

We are losing our great insurance come jan 1, was informed 2 weeks ago that "insurance agent will keep our premiums under the Cadillac price, but the coverage will be less then we receive now" very high deductible oop up front cost, without dental or vision.

Woo hoo go ACA

 

[mikek]

My partner and I lost our individual insurance through Blue Cross of Michigan due to Obamacare. They were great, affordable plans ($179/month for a 61 year old with a $1,000/ year deductible). The new plan Blue Cross has suggested we pick up has a $10,000 per year per person deductible in network. The killer is the out of pocket maximums each year. It is $27,000 per person or $54,000 for a family plan, on top of the premiums we have to pay. Obviously, this is insane.

Make sure to look at annual out of pocket maximums before choosing a policy.

I can't get on the website to check Obamacare prices, but I think we have reached the end of affordable health care for us and many others.

If anyone finds an affordable plan with low deductibles for 50 and 61 year olds, please let me know!

You should certainly check the exchanges- for older folks closer to medicare the rates are supposed to go down.

 

[mikek]

Some insurance companies are stopping to offering plans most of those plans fall into what the government now calls "Cadillac Plan"

We are losing our great insurance come jan 1, was informed 2 weeks ago that "insurance agent will keep our premiums under the Cadillac price, but the coverage will be less then we receive now" very high deductible oop up front cost, without dental or vision.

Woo hoo go ACA

actually it doesn't need to be a cadillac plan at all. (ours will not renew either and it has a 5k deductible with ~15k premiums) My BCBS here in NJ sent me the letter last week too that they will not renew. Basically obamacare requires certain things be included in all plans written on or after 1/1/14. So if the existing plan doesn't have all that then the insurer can't renew as is. They can either just cancel the plans outright or add to them to make it fit the new rules. Seems many insurers have decided not to futz around trying to get old plans compliant and are instead getting rid of the existing plans and starting from scratch.

So Despite the promises and soundbites over the past few years- "if you like your plan today you can keep it" is a bold faced lie.

I hoped to do better with the new rules but i never thought I'd do worse. I'm starting to get worried.

 

[mikek]

Hi everyone. I am looking for names & recommendations for private insurance (medical). I'm going to shop around for different options starting October 15th. I'm looking for names so that I can do the research myself & call them to see their rates. I know of BCBS, Aetna, United Health Care. What are some other companies you all are insured with for an individual plan?

I've been with Blue Cross for years, private individual plan, and it is time to look around and I want to compare other companies with my BCBS plan. I know rates are up in air right now, and that's alright, I'm just looking for names of carriers for reputable individual plans and, as well, those insurance carriers to steer clear of.

Thanks.

You have to be clear what state you plan to buy in. The people we have here in my state are unable to sell you insurance in your state.

One of the great failures (in my humble opinion) of the ACA as it really didn't create any new competition by allowing any sort of federal coverage. Basically each state has it's own rules and own companies approved to sell insurance. To me that's part of the problem. I live 10 minutes from PA but can't buy PA insurance even if it's better for me than what is offered in my state. It's silly.

 

[bearzabout]

I read that everyone in Michigan with an individual health care policy had them cancelled this year because they don't meet Obamacare rules. I also read that 16% of all insured people in Michigan had individual policies. Multiply that my 50 states and that is 50 million people that just lost their affordable individual health insurance.

Remember when Obama said no one would loose their coverage?

I still can't check Obamacare rates, but I know that $179/month for a $1000 deductible and $5000 a year stop loss does not exist. If we stick with Blue Cross, we will face potentially a 1000% increase in annual costs. My old plan even included $500 per year in preventative care. I will miss it dearly. If you read the details in Obamacare, only some people will qualify for certain kinds of preventative care.

Has anyone read about what Obamacare actually covers? What do they mean by essential care? I hear it won't even cover cancer treatment if the cancer is slow growing. What if a hospital in an emergency does not accept it? Do they send you away to die? Or do you just have to pay 100% of the costs out of pocket?

How do you find out which doctors and hospitals will accept the plan? Anyone know? All my attempts to check myself have not worked. I can't get chat to work and calling did not work either.

All the stress from loosing my coverage is making me sick.

 

[mikek]

there's a giant thread here about obamacare- it's too annoying for me to post in there anymore i think. The exchange website is still hopeless for me- i literally tried 15-20 minutes ago and after the holding page it let me log in and now i'm stuck on a blank page.

But it's not just individual plans. My BCBS Small Business plan here in NJ was also cancelled because it didn't meet the obamacare rules.

When I check the BCBS individual website for NJ all the existing plans are dead too effective 1/1- not sure if they wont allow renewals like my plan but i can only assume so. THere's no information yet on 2014 Small Business plans in NJ- my broker can't even get pricing to help me.

In the obamacare thread it seems that no one's premiums are going down from the exchange website and as you point out the out of pocket costs get much worse.

Each plan has it's own list of approved dr's just like the old way. So the a BCBS obamacare plan will have one list. A us healhtcare obamacare plan list will be different etc.

I assume 'essential" coverage is the same basic stuff that we had before plus a bunch more. For example they now must include dental for children. I beleive it's all the new plus things that are blasting the rates through the roof. It's all well and good that kids need dental checkups but not sure banckrupting us all is a way to do it. What's more since everyone has the same few plans now and they all must include this crap- someone in the obamacare plan pointed out that 60+ year old folks now are getting dental for kids and maternity care included on their plans when before they could shop for plans without that and save money.

Fingers crossed that in the coming days/weeks/months this all calms down and seems more normal but at the current time it's tough for me too not to be in a panic that the current 20% of my income i pay for healthcare isn't about to become 25%.

good luck to you too.