Author Topic: Health insurance, help needed  (Read 3553 times)

Jocassee

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Health insurance, help needed
« on: September 10, 2009, 12:23:38 PM »
I'm single, uninsured and I need to be insured. Don't have a clue where to turn, so I look to you, wise members of the APS.

22 yrs old, no weird conditions
Single
No plan through my employer

Talk to me.  =)
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Scout26

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2009, 12:27:41 PM »
Call the guy/company that handles your car insurance or life insurance.

Are you a Member of USAA ??
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Nick1911

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2009, 12:32:22 PM »
Where I live, blue cross blue shield can get you set up with major medical insurance for very reasonable rates.

As a young guy, you want to think about health insurance like car or home insurance.  Routine maintenance you should pay for out of your pocket, keep insurance around to mitigate bankrupting disasters.

Northwoods

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #3 on: September 10, 2009, 12:33:57 PM »
http://www.daveramsey.com/sa/health/index.cfm?fuseaction=dspStep1

Fill out the required info (name and email address) and they'll send you the contact info for any endorsed providors in your area/state.  Said providers should also call/email you, but if they don't then you have the means to call them.  Most likely you'll get contact info for an insurance broker (rather than an insurance company) that will help you select the best plan for your needs.  

We got our health insurance that way.  No complaints on our end.
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Headless Thompson Gunner

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #4 on: September 10, 2009, 12:47:04 PM »
I'm like you, relatively young, male, and healthy.  Young men are statistically unlikely to get routine illnesses or need simple care.  Our main risk is getting ourselves major injuries due to things like car wrecks. 

I tend to think the best type of plan for us is a "high deductible" or "major medical" plan.  The way these plans work is the first $2,500 or $5,000 or so of medical costs you incur each year are your responsibility, any costs above that will be paid by the insurance company.  This protects you from the really expensive treatments like hospital stays, and saves you gobs of money on premiums by not covering rudimentary stuff like routine doctor visits and pharmaceuticals which you're unlikely to need and can pay for yourself out of pocket.  These plans cost very little and cover you against what you really need, which is bankruptcy-inducing major medical bills.

If you have a high deductible plan you're eligible to open a "health saving account", which allows you to save pre-tax income to use for medical expenses.  Save up enough to cover your yearly deductible and you'll have bullet-proof medical coverage on the cheap.

Ask the folks who sell your car and home/renters insurance.
« Last Edit: September 10, 2009, 05:13:17 PM by Headless Thompson Gunner »

roo_ster

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #5 on: September 10, 2009, 01:04:19 PM »
Yep, the "catastrophic" type plans are your best bet, along with a HSA.
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roo_ster

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Jamisjockey

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #6 on: September 10, 2009, 01:07:58 PM »
Yep, the "catastrophic" type plans are your best bet, along with a HSA.

Agreed!!!!

The one thing additionally you might consider is Disability Insurance.  Its not that expensive, and a good bet to cover your ass if you've got bills because you get an injury that won't let you work.
JD

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Firethorn

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #7 on: September 10, 2009, 01:09:34 PM »
ditto what others are saying, I'll add:  read through the fine print!  

Make sure you understand what it covers and doesn't - what drugs, what hospital limitations there are, any treatments you'll be responsable for, etc...

Loss of work/disability insurance often missed.

Your insurance agent should be able to help you, or direct you to someone who can.

AJ Dual

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #8 on: September 10, 2009, 01:12:12 PM »
Yep, the "catastrophic" type plans are your best bet, along with a HSA.

Yes, this is my advice as well. The tricky part is finding a pre-tax HSA that you can get into without your employer offering it. I believe they're out there, you just have to look.

The benefit of an HSA (Health Savings Account)

The contributions are pre-tax, reducing your total taxable income.
Money you do not use for medical expenses gains interest.
Unlike an FSA (Flexible Spending Account) the unused money rolls over year after year.
You can use the money for all medical expenses, doctor/hospital bills, Rx's, dental, eyewear/contacts, and even OTC medications, or for the insurance co-pays and deductables of the catastrophic plan.

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Headless Thompson Gunner

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #9 on: September 10, 2009, 01:14:06 PM »
Most banks offer a HSA.  You won't be able to automatically deposit into it pre-tax without your employer's help.  You'd have to deposit into it with after tax dollars, but you can deduct the deposits from your income on April 15, which accomplishes the same thing.

Fjolnirsson

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #10 on: September 10, 2009, 01:28:23 PM »
You might also check with AFLAC. They have reasonably priced stuff for accidents and so forth. I pay something like $4/month, and if I do something stupid like cut my finger while trimming trees(requiring stitches), they'll send me a check to cover a portion or all of the cost. They also have plans for hospital stays, etc.
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Northwoods

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #11 on: September 10, 2009, 01:30:53 PM »
+1 on the HSA.  That's what we've got set up for ourselves.  Most HSA qualified plans though will still cover annual physicals 100% (or at least 80/20) without them applying against the deductible.  

For ours the deducible is $5000 for the whole family.  So if one kid breaks their arm and that costs, say, $2000, and then I get a sick costing to the tune of $4000 the insurance will still kick in and pay $1000 (actually $800 as it's an 80/20 after the deductible).  Stop loss is around $10k IIRC.

For 2009 you can put up to $5950 into your HSA.  Last year it was $5800.  Not a bad whack against your taxable income.  Plus, once you turn 65 that account becomes like an IRA in that you can make non-medical withdrawls that only cost you the income taxes on the amount taken out - there's no penalty.  Withdrawls for qualified medical expenses would still be tax free.
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roo_ster

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #12 on: September 10, 2009, 01:55:58 PM »
If you already have old-school insurance through your employer, can one start up a HSA?
Regards,

roo_ster

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Firethorn

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #13 on: September 10, 2009, 02:05:00 PM »
If you already have old-school insurance through your employer, can one start up a HSA?

Unfortuantly, to my knowledge, no.

I'm currently in the military and was hoping to start one up so that I have $$$ in there already for when I retire.  Sure, I'll have VA coverage, but as we all know, more money can be potentially life/finance saving if something happens.

Brad Johnson

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #14 on: September 10, 2009, 02:42:11 PM »
'Nuther vote for a "catastrophic" plan. 

I do something similar with Blue Cross Blue Shield... $5000 deductable, 80/20 general copay up to $12,000 out of pocket, $25 office visit, and $15/$25 scrip coverage.

Right now it's running $158 a month, but that's the insurance company's nice way of saying "Welcome to middle age!" (I'm 41). When I was mid-30s the premium was around $90 per month.

Brad

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Headless Thompson Gunner

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #15 on: September 10, 2009, 05:12:05 PM »
Wow, it looks like the HSA/catastrophic insurance deal is quite popular. 

Naturally, Obamacare outlaws both catastrophic insurance and HSAs.
« Last Edit: September 10, 2009, 05:16:50 PM by Headless Thompson Gunner »

Northwoods

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #16 on: September 10, 2009, 07:51:54 PM »
Naturally, Obamacare outlaws both catastrophic insurance and HSAs.
:O  :O  :O  :O
Cite???

If that's correct then I'm even more :mad: than I already was.
Formerly sumpnz

Fly320s

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #17 on: September 10, 2009, 09:41:30 PM »
I'm single, uninsured and I need to be insured.
Why? 

Islamic sex dolls.  Do they blow themselves up?

Headless Thompson Gunner

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #18 on: September 10, 2009, 11:39:27 PM »
:O  :O  :O  :O
Cite???

If that's correct then I'm even more :mad: than I already was.
It's been a while since I read that little tidbit.  The bill would require that all new insurance plans issued must meet Federal standards for coverage, and only comprehensive full-coverage plans would offer sufficient coverage to meet the standards.  No more high deductible plans, and without them no more HSAs.

Edit: 
A quick bit of googling turned this up:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203517304574306303720472842.html#mod=rss_opinion_main
« Last Edit: September 10, 2009, 11:45:07 PM by Headless Thompson Gunner »

MillCreek

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #19 on: September 10, 2009, 11:41:05 PM »
Agreed!!!!

The one thing additionally you might consider is Disability Insurance.  Its not that expensive, and a good bet to cover your ass if you've got bills because you get an injury that won't let you work.

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Jamisjockey

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Re: Health insurance, help needed
« Reply #20 on: September 11, 2009, 08:07:32 AM »
Wow, it looks like the HSA/catastrophic insurance deal is quite popular. 

Naturally, Obamacare outlaws both catastrophic insurance and HSAs.

Of course.


We were going that route, but found with two kids the small stuff was draining our HSA.  Then, of course, you can't have an HSA and a regular insurance, even if it has a high deductible.  So, we didn't have much in our HSA when I got the $1800 bill for my wife's ER visit back in January, since we could no longer contribute to the HSA. 
But at least my high deductible plan will be outlawed, too.
JD

 The price of a lottery ticket seems to be the maximum most folks are willing to risk toward the dream of becoming a one-percenter. “Robert Hollis”