IMADreamer Posted April 23, 2012 Posted April 23, 2012 Hey guys and gals, I need some advice. My job doesn't offer health insurance, or any benefits. lol Obviously I NEED health insurance because I'm getting older and aches and pains are creeping up. I did some googleing of the topic but I don't know if you can trust half the crap that comes up as most seem like advertisements. So I was wonder if any of my fellow Adamer's have had to buy their own health insurance? I'm not even sure I can afford it to be honest but I'm sure the heck gonna try.
THE Mook Posted April 23, 2012 Posted April 23, 2012 I don't know a whole lot...but look into Blue Cross, or Kaiser. I have heard the individual plans are affordable. Mook
BlueGenCoupe Posted April 23, 2012 Posted April 23, 2012 For Benefits here in Canada, if your employer doesn't offer them, you can go to the bank and you can buy them there.
Z71_Denali Posted April 23, 2012 Posted April 23, 2012 lots of companies to choose from. Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare, Cigna, etc... figure out who you want to be your main physician and see what they accept. if you could care less who the physician is, then figure out what kind of plan you want. there's HMO, PPO, Passive-PPO, probably more than that. HMO is the cheapest, but you have to go to a doctor that accepts your plan. PPOs you get more options on who your doctor is, but the visits are cheaper if they cover your provider. personally, i've been covered under Aetna, United Healthcare, and Blue Cross Blue Shield. never had a problem with any of them. you NEED health insurance, don't tell yourself you don't because you can't afford it. best thing you can do is find an employer that provides it to be honest. or is your job only temporary?
DaveVY Posted April 23, 2012 Posted April 23, 2012 For a few years I was covered under an individual health policy. This was a few years ago. Back then I found the best place to find and shop the major carriers was a site ehealthinsurance.com. They quote most of the larger carriers and some of the smaller ones also. Shopping for individual health insurance can be an interesting challenge, especially depending on your health history. Feel free to PM me and I will try my best to answer your questions.
ChargerMatt Posted April 23, 2012 Posted April 23, 2012 As a health policy major I am ashamed that I know nothing about individual health plan options... I should bring this up to one of my professors
70'sChevyGirl Posted April 23, 2012 Posted April 23, 2012 I don't think there is such a thing as Cheap Individual Insurance from any provider. How sucky is that??
IMADreamer Posted April 23, 2012 Author Posted April 23, 2012 lots of companies to choose from. Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare, Cigna, etc... figure out who you want to be your main physician and see what they accept. if you could care less who the physician is, then figure out what kind of plan you want. there's HMO, PPO, Passive-PPO, probably more than that. HMO is the cheapest, but you have to go to a doctor that accepts your plan. PPOs you get more options on who your doctor is, but the visits are cheaper if they cover your provider. personally, i've been covered under Aetna, United Healthcare, and Blue Cross Blue Shield. never had a problem with any of them. you NEED health insurance, don't tell yourself you don't because you can't afford it. best thing you can do is find an employer that provides it to be honest. or is your job only temporary? I'll be honest my job situation is in the "kind of screwed" category. I've gone as far as I can go working were I am (I'm number 2 in charge and number 1 owns the place) We are a small company and I love my job it just doesn't offer a great life. The other X factor is my aging father who is a farmer and quite frankly needs help on the farm which is kind of why I'm still here. I'm feeling very lost in life right now. My intentions were to buy the place I work when the boss retired. However that's looking less and less likely as time goes on because her children have showed a sudden interest which they never have before. So short answer, I have no idea what I'm going to do. I'm educated, experienced, and a darn good worker. I just don't know what that gets me, especially with myself feeling like I need to be close to home with my Dad's health failing. Thank you everyone for the posts and PMs. I'll do some digging. The one thing I know for sure going forward is that as much as I may not be able to afford health insurance, I can't afford not to have it either. It's a shame our entire health system is completely messed up in America but maybe someday we will actually get politicians who are serious about fixing our problems instead of just fixing their problems. Again thanks everyone and if anyone else has more advice or something to add I'd love to hear it.
Marylander Posted April 23, 2012 Posted April 23, 2012 I'll be honest my job situation is in the "kind of screwed" category. I've gone as far as I can go working were I am (I'm number 2 in charge and number 1 owns the place) We are a small company and I love my job it just doesn't offer a great life. The other X factor is my aging father who is a farmer and quite frankly needs help on the farm which is kind of why I'm still here. I'm feeling very lost in life right now. My intentions were to buy the place I work when the boss retired. However that's looking less and less likely as time goes on because her children have showed a sudden interest which they never have before. So short answer, I have no idea what I'm going to do. I'm educated, experienced, and a darn good worker. I just don't know what that gets me, especially with myself feeling like I need to be close to home with my Dad's health failing. Thank you everyone for the posts and PMs. I'll do some digging. The one thing I know for sure going forward is that as much as I may not be able to afford health insurance, I can't afford not to have it either. It's a shame our entire health system is completely messed up in America but maybe someday we will actually get politicians who are serious about fixing our problems instead of just fixing their problems. Again thanks everyone and if anyone else has more advice or something to add I'd love to hear it. You might want to have a friendly but formal talk with the owner and put some of your cards on the table -- that might get a conversation going about buying the place, becoming a partner, getting a more accommodating schedule, or whatever. I suspect that even if her kids have an interest in the place, they might be out of their depth in thinking that they can just take it over -- especially if the #2 guy, you -- who's been doing of a lot of the work is no longer there or motivated to be there. You never know -- maybe the owner is freaking out thinking that she has to work forever or get her kids in there just to keep the place alive. Conversation never hurts.
Cygnus Posted April 23, 2012 Posted April 23, 2012 My suggestion would be to find a local insurance agent and have him price things out for you. That's what I've been doing for my insurance and I've been on individual for years now since I'm self employed. He gave me options for everyone that offers insurance here with rates rates ranging from just under $100 to $500 (single male). So rates aren't too bad depending on what you're looking for. I'm running $140/month right now for a $2000 deductible HSA compatible plan. The deductible is high, but I'm a fan of the Health Savings Account (HSA) concept since I'm healthy. With one, the plan only covers costs after I've hit the yearly deductible (yearly checkup is free), but in addition to the plan I can put up to $3000 per year into an HSA account, which is similar to a Roth IRA for taxes, that I can pay for all medical and dental expenses out of. So it lowers my pretax income, I'm earning interest on the money in the account, and I have a nice little fund available incase something ever does happen to me.
Ryanbabz71 Posted April 23, 2012 Posted April 23, 2012 I have anthem through work. Just another company for you to consider Good luck Ryan Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hiredgun8 Posted April 24, 2012 Posted April 24, 2012 If she is gonna let her kids take over, what would stop you from opening your own and give them a little competition?
IMADreamer Posted April 24, 2012 Author Posted April 24, 2012 If she is gonna let her kids take over, what would stop you from opening your own and give them a little competition? Oh trust me the thought has crossed my mind and I've done some homework on the subject. I'm not ruling it out. We are in a pretty small town though and I'm pretty sure it would be very tough. I'm cocky enough to think her business would suffer without me, but not so much that I could over come the repeat business. I'd say atleast half of our business is from people that say "my Mom, Grandmother, aunt so and so bought here so I will too."
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