Insurance question

That's a bummer Alli. You may want to start with your State offices first and see if they have options. Some States have different options for un-insured. Did you chek with your employer and see if they have something that you can pay for? Usually the larger the employer, the better the price.
You would not believe what they charge in New York for health insurance and the rates have gone up on me 25% every year for the past 5 yrs.
Sickening. It saddens me how many people in the country do not have health insurance. It's a big bone of contention with me.
Good luck.

I see lots of commercials now for Blueoptions (Blue Cross), but I've never checked it out. I'm currently covered, but insurance costs have skyrocketed
in the last few years. I'm considering taking the money that's taken out of my check and putting it away for medical costs, but we all know when you never see that money you don't miss it. If it's sitting there in the bank...I'm spendin' it! It comes to over $5,000 per year! Good luck. Post what you find if you don't mind.

my divorce will be final the end of this month, and as of then I will no longer have health insurance. This is making me nervous now, I have a family history of skin cancer and have already had 2 places removed from my back in the last 4 years, all of which were necessary and expensive! I need health insurance for this purpose but do not have any with the job I am in. I need to look into an affordable option...does any one have insight into where I should start?

Can you get COBRA benefits thru your ex's insurance? Of course, it only lasts for about one year, but better than nothing.

Can you get COBRA benefits thru your ex's insurance? Of course, it only lasts for about one year, but better than nothing.

Excellent idea Dbuck. :clap_1:

Can you get COBRA benefits thru your ex's insurance? Of course, it only lasts for about one year, but better than nothing.

COBRA will cost me about as much as my own policy. My employer is CHI Omega and they are not likley to provide for me. That is the breaks of the line of work I am in. I may have to seek employment that will provide decent medical coverage

COBRA will cost me about as much as my own policy. My employer is CHI Omega and they are not likley to provide for me. That is the breaks of the line of work I am in. I may have to seek employment that will provide decent medical coverage

BUT his policy may be better than what your own policy (new policy) would provide. This may be the push you need to start looking for a job in the SoWal area.

Can you get COBRA benefits thru your ex's insurance? Of course, it only lasts for about one year, but better than nothing.

BUT his policy may be better than what your own policy (new policy) would provide. This may be the push you need to start looking for a job in the SoWal area.

Good idea. See you can cook the meal, and I'll tell you what herbs to add for what ails the person. Cheaper than going to the doctor, and tastier. We could ask, lets say, $50 a plate, and have an apothecary located inside. :funn:

Good idea. See you can cook the meal, and I'll tell you what herbs to add for what ails the person. Cheaper than going to the doctor, and tastier. We could ask, lets say, $50 a plate, and have an apothecary located inside. :funn:

MMMMM....I like this idea!
You may be right Dbuck...I'll talk to soon-to-be-ex about it...I know he will want to help out if his COBRA is a better deal....

As I found out the hard way, health insurance is a tricky thing. If you can get COBRA through your ex, it might have several advantages. If you have a health issue it is often hard to get your own coverage, at least with a health insurance company you want to do business with. However, if you have COBRA and pay for COBRA until it expires, most insurance companies have to continue to cover you, although it might be at a higher rate. If you currently have a good insurance plan through your husband, you might want to be able to stick with it. For instance, Blue Cross/Blue Shield is considered to be a good insurance company for around here since everyone takes it. So if you have COBRA through them, they have to keep you as a client when your COBRA expires. You might not be able to get Blue Cross/Blue Shield on your own. Blue Cross/Blue Shield has very strict requirements on who they will accept for private health insurance and rule out a lot of people. Some insurance companies will write riders for exclusions for preexisting conditions. Blue Cross/Blue Shield will just not cover you at all if you have certain preexisting conditions. Also I believe that if you buy COBRA until it expires, you are protected by certain laws, that I can't remember right now, which allows you to get coverage, when you might not otherwise be able to. So although COBRA is often very expensive, it might be the best option in the long run. Whatever you do, do NOT let your health insurance coverage lapse. I seem to remember this was the first question I got asked when trying to get private health insurance. Call a few agents in your area and explore all your options and ask lots of questions before you have to make a final decision.

Allifunn, check out ehealthinsurance.com I have the Blue-Cross Blue Shield Right Choice plan. Keep in mind that I live in GA and you SC so there will be slight diffrences, but I only pay $122 per month for medical, dental, and vision. The plan has a $0 deductible and only $40 copay for office visits. I have had this plan since 2005, after I graduated I was no longer on my parents' health insurance. I also had to get the plan with $0 deductible because I have a heart ailment and I have to see a cardiologist every few months, and I take Atenolol--a beta blocker for the heart problem, so this is why I pay a higher monthly fee for the $0 deductible.

SGB is right, in Ga. if you have any lapse, it kicks you into problems with pre-existing conditions. Every state is different, as I think I have learned, Fl. laws are MUCH more consumer friendly on that subject. Cobra cost a lot upfront, and monthly cost are higher, but you don't want it to lapse, even for one day.

Our daughter, a college student covered under my husband's BCBS, went below full time last spring because she dropped a class. She had to get COBRA coverage. It cost $253 a month in addition to the premium my husband was already paying for full family coverage.

As long as she is a full-time student, she is covered under his insurance until she's 24. Last year I was worried about her not having a job when she turns 24 and not having insurance coverage or her getting some condition that makes insurance hard to find. I decided to get her a private policy so I wouldn't have to worry about this. She got denied because she had been on Prozac for depression (but stopped taking it about six months prior to the application). They wouldn't even agree to covering everything but mental health. The State Farm agent told me that if their company denied her, every insurance company would. The agent said that she has many friends who have been denied insurance because they had been on antidepressants.

But someone else told me that BCBS might take my daughter on when she turns 24. I guess that's what SGB is saying, too -- just as long as we don't let the coverage lapse. Of course, the premiums will probably be outrageous. Better than not being insured.

Even though my primary physician despises BCBS. He says they're a bunch of crooks who try to deny procedures that other insurance companies pay for. For example, he ran a test to check my homocysteine level. My insurance paid 80%, but BCBS (my secondary insurance) wouldn't pay anything because they said that test is "experimental." BCBS also frequently denies clains for invalid reasons. Then if you resubmit, they'll pay. I think they know that people don't want to go to the trouble to question them and resubmit, so BCBS gets to keep their money.

Anyhow, thanks SGB for the info!

my sister's insurance is covered by her job, but to cover my b.i.l. and my nephew/sister it was gonna be $900 i think they ended up getting a policy from state farm for them.

i think my coverage is pretty decent, as long as you have whatever procedure it is done at the hospital i work at. it is better coverage than what mr audie has with bcbs.

call a local independent insurance agent who carries Blue Cross/Blue Shield and get some info/quotes. you can probably find a good decent plan with high deductible, at a decent (average) premium rate. you can do the online thing, but I feel better talking to someone face to face about options. you may want to do your homework online first, researching Blue Cross options BCBS also has a type of Medical Savings Account type insurance plan as well (not really insurance, but does offer benefits).

call a local independent insurance agent who carries Blue Cross/Blue Shield and get some info/quotes. you can probably find a good decent plan with high deductible, at a decent (average) premium rate. you can do the online thing, but I feel better talking to someone face to face about options. you may want to do your homework online first, researching Blue Cross options BCBS also has a type of Medical Savings Account type insurance plan as well (not really insurance, but does offer benefits).

that's a good idea toots, we have this at work, called a flex account which we can use to cover deductibles, pharmacy co-pays, eyeglasses, and things like that not normally covered by a regular policy.

Our daughter, a college student covered under my husband's BCBS, went below full time last spring because she dropped a class. She had to get COBRA coverage. It cost $253 a month in addition to the premium my husband was already paying for full family coverage.

As long as she is a full-time student, she is covered under his insurance until she's 24. Last year I was worried about her not having a job when she turns 24 and not having insurance coverage or her getting some condition that makes insurance hard to find. I decided to get her a private policy so I wouldn't have to worry about this. She got denied because she had been on Prozac for depression (but stopped taking it about six months prior to the application). They wouldn't even agree to covering everything but mental health. The State Farm agent told me that if their company denied her, every insurance company would. The agent said that she has many friends who have been denied insurance because they had been on antidepressants.

But someone else told me that BCBS might take my daughter on when she turns 24. I guess that's what SGB is saying, too -- just as long as we don't let the coverage lapse. Of course, the premiums will probably be outrageous. Better than not being insured.

Even though my primary physician despises BCBS. He says they're a bunch of crooks who try to deny procedures that other insurance companies pay for. For example, he ran a test to check my homocysteine level. My insurance paid 80%, but BCBS (my secondary insurance) wouldn't pay anything because they said that test is "experimental." BCBS also frequently denies clains for invalid reasons. Then if you resubmit, they'll pay. I think they know that people don't want to go to the trouble to question them and resubmit, so BCBS gets to keep their money.

Anyhow, thanks SGB for the info!

I am having my wisdom teeth removed on the 17th--fall break (don't ask me why I never had it done earlier but I am afraid of surgery) and BCBS are only covering my two bottom teeth which are impacted. The two top teeth which are just beginning to erupt from the gum line are not covered and the surgery is considered elective for those two top teeth, and so I pay $745 the day of surgery.

And I suspect the only reason that BCBS did not deny my new policy after I had graduated last year, is because I was also covered by them when I was full time and on my parents' family policy.

I am having my wisdom teeth removed on the 17th--fall break (don't ask me why I never had it done earlier but I am afraid of surgery) and BCBS are only covering my two bottom teeth which are impacted. The two top teeth which are just beginning to erupt from the gum line are not covered and the surgery is considered elective for those two top teeth, and so I pay $745 the day of surgery.

And I suspect the only reason that BCBS did not deny my new policy after I had graduated last year, is because I was also covered by them when I was full time and on my parents' family policy.

That just doesn't seem fair.

Well, I'll keep my fingers crossed that BCBS will write my daughter her own policy when she graduates.

I'll tell you one thing, if I had known that taking an antidepressant would cause her to be denied, I would have just not submitted claims for that doctor and the meds so it wouldn't be on her record.

Allifunn, check out ehealthinsurance.com I have the Blue-Cross Blue Shield Right Choice plan. Keep in mind that I live in GA and you SC so there will be slight diffrences, but I only pay $122 per month for medical, dental, and vision. The plan has a $0 deductible and only $40 copay for office visits. I have had this plan since 2005, after I graduated I was no longer on my parents' health insurance. I also had to get the plan with $0 deductible because I have a heart ailment and I have to see a cardiologist every few months, and I take Atenolol--a beta blocker for the heart problem, so this is why I pay a higher monthly fee for the $0 deductible.

thanks bsmart (bsmartiepants...my pet name for you... ) Hope your heart is strong for many years to come!

SGB is right, in Ga. if you have any lapse, it kicks you into problems with pre-existing conditions. Every state is different, as I think I have learned, Fl. laws are MUCH more consumer friendly on that subject. Cobra cost a lot upfront, and monthly cost are higher, but you don't want it to lapse, even for one day.

I am aware of pre-exisitng...this is why I am freeking out..i am afraid to go to a doctor to do a last minute visit...in fear that they will find something that will interfere with a new policy down the road!

call a local independent insurance agent who carries Blue Cross/Blue Shield and get some info/quotes. you can probably find a good decent plan with high deductible, at a decent (average) premium rate. you can do the online thing, but I feel better talking to someone face to face about options. you may want to do your homework online first, researching Blue Cross options BCBS also has a type of Medical Savings Account type insurance plan as well (not really insurance, but does offer benefits).

I do not like on-line in this instance either...I want to speak to a real person...but I will do research on line first!
I talked to Mike (ex) today and he is going to check into COBRA for me ...how much and for how long. I will weigh the odds from there....
THANKS everyone for the imput....it's a jungle out there.....

I am having my wisdom teeth removed on the 17th--fall break (don't ask me why I never had it done earlier but I am afraid of surgery) and BCBS are only covering my two bottom teeth which are impacted. The two top teeth which are just beginning to erupt from the gum line are not covered and the surgery is considered elective for those two top teeth, and so I pay $745 the day of surgery.

And I suspect the only reason that BCBS did not deny my new policy after I had graduated last year, is because I was also covered by them when I was full time and on my parents' family policy.

Correction...for those who care the surgery is the 27th and the pre-op or whatever you call it is the 17th. Nevertheless, I am not looking forward to it.

I'll tell you one thing, if I had known that taking an antidepressant would cause her to be denied, I would have just not submitted claims for that doctor and the meds so it wouldn't be on her record.

If it makes you feel any better, not submitting the claims wouldn't have helped really. They will ask what medications you've been on and everything you've been diagnosed with for the last 5 years. If you're not truthful and a question comes up after you've been covered by them, they will investigate and ask for the medical records from your doctor, who will have the information noted. If they catch you in a lie, you'll be dropped like a rock.

If it makes you feel any better, not submitting the claims wouldn't have helped really. They will ask what medications you've been on and everything you've been diagnosed with for the last 5 years. If you're not truthful and a question comes up after you've been covered by them, they will investigate and ask for the medical records from your doctor, who will have the information noted. If they catch you in a lie, you'll be dropped like a rock.

exactly!

Correction...for those who care the surgery is the 27th and the pre-op or whatever you call it is the 17th. Nevertheless, I am not looking forward to it.

You will do fine...post after your surgery and let us know how you are!...goofy feeling and all! You will be PUI...of legit drugs....

I have worked for and with insurance for many years, and my suggestion would be to get a hospital surgical policy if you are fairly young and healthy with the exception of the skin cancer issues. Chances are you'll be much better off paying for a yearly check up and a derm visit out of pocket than paying premiums on a traditional policy. The policy is there if you have any illness that would cause real financial hardship, and it counts as coverage as far as pre-existing issues go. Also, a lot of doctors are willing to give discounts for self-pay patients. In Louisiana, a doctor may charge $125 for an office visit but BCBS only paid $47 so our group was always quite happy to give cash patients a $50 discount. If you go that route you'll probably end up spending as much at the doctor as you would going to the hairdresser over the next year. It's way better than COBRA unless 1) you take a lot of brand name medication for which there is no substitute or 2) you plan to have a baby anytime soon.

I have worked for and with insurance for many years, and my suggestion would be to get a hospital surgical policy if you are fairly young and healthy with the exception of the skin cancer issues. Chances are you'll be much better off paying for a yearly check up and a derm visit out of pocket than paying premiums on a traditional policy. The policy is there if you have any illness that would cause real financial hardship, and it counts as coverage as far as pre-existing issues go. Also, a lot of doctors are willing to give discounts for self-pay patients. In Louisiana, a doctor may charge $125 for an office visit but BCBS only paid $47 so our group was always quite happy to give cash patients a $50 discount. If you go that route you'll probably end up spending as much at the doctor as you would going to the hairdresser over the next year. It's way better than COBRA unless 1) you take a lot of brand name medication for which there is no substitute or 2) you plan to have a baby anytime soon.

thank you, this makes alot of sense! Much of what I have thought of myself...but you put it into perspective...
PS....NO BABY!!!!! way beyond that....;-)

Correction...for those who care the surgery is the 27th and the pre-op or whatever you call it is the 17th. Nevertheless, I am not looking forward to it.

i will be thinking of you - i totally understand the not looking forward to it ! i hope your experience is as good as mine just was - if so it will be a breeze for ya !