Health Insurance

PokerBob · #1 08-04-2007, 06:01 PM

I do not have a job, and thus have no health insurance through an employer. When I became a poker pro, I was lazy and simply opted to continue the coverage I received from my school district via COBRA, so I pay monthly. The coverage was very good and I was familiar with it, so I was willing to pay what undoubtedly would be considered a lot. I only have the coverage for about 6 more months. This, combined with the fact that my monthly premiums went up from $450 to $500, has inspired me to look for other options. I don't even know where to begin. Any ideas?

xx44 · #2 08-04-2007, 06:12 PM

ehealthinsurance.com,I just hope youre not from ny

Alumni associations also may have decent group rates

Ron Burgundy · #3 08-04-2007, 06:17 PM

I went on ehealthinsurance.com and got an Aetna plan for $52/month.

xx44 · #4 08-04-2007, 06:18 PM

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I went on ehealthinsurance.com and got an Aetna plan for $52/month.

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$5k deductible?

Ron Burgundy · #5 08-04-2007, 06:45 PM

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[ QUOTE ]
I went on ehealthinsurance.com and got an Aetna plan for $52/month.

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$5k deductible?

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yes

udbrky · #6 08-04-2007, 07:15 PM

I had anthem when I didn't have insurance through work. It was decent, was like $60 a month, but I've only been to the doctor twice in 5 years.

slickpoppa · #7 08-04-2007, 07:28 PM

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ehealthinsurance.com,I just hope youre not from ny

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Yeah, can someone explain to me why it is impossible to get decent health insurance in NY?

El Diablo · #8 08-04-2007, 07:48 PM

PB,

Like others have said, ehealthinsurance.com. I've used that for both personal and business health insurance plans. FWIW, in CA, Blue Shield is generally the best bang for your buck.

Quicksilvre · #9 08-04-2007, 08:40 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
ehealthinsurance.com,I just hope youre not from ny

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, can someone explain to me why it is impossible to get decent health insurance in NY?

[/ QUOTE ]

Indeed...it looks like health insurance is 4x higher in my neck of the woods than it is in California.

Unoriginalname · #10 08-04-2007, 09:02 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
ehealthinsurance.com,I just hope youre not from ny

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Yeah, can someone explain to me why it is impossible to get decent health insurance in NY?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yup, I work for a NY health insurance company so I can actually tell you why. In NY, for individual insurance policies not through a group, you HAVE to charge the same premium for everyone, regardless of someone's sex, age, health status, etc. So an obese, 60 year old woman with type I diabetes, crohn's disease, and heart disease will be offered the same policy with the same price as a 25 year old male with no chronic health problems. You are also not allowed to deny anyone insurance. And as long as you have had continuous health insurance coverage without a break of more than 63 days, preexisting conditions don't apply either.

So what does this all mean? The main consumer of these plans is people with a bevy of health problems, who will actually save money with them. Many insurance companies in NY don't even want to sell direct pay policies because of these laws. We'd rather just sell to groups only, but by law, we HAVE to at least offer individual managed care plans. We have to jack up the price to ludicrous amounts to avoid losing obscene amounts of money off these plans. I believe Empire BCBS and GHI have Hospital/emergency only type plans. A lot insurance companies don't offer them in NY because you'd lose too much money.