Suggestions for a good individual health care program...

Hello,

We are seeking health insurance, but there is quite a
large group of companies promising THEY are the one
to call for individual health care insurance.

Basically we would need insurance for myself, my husband
and the last young one (15). We don't need any well baby
care, pregnancy related care, etc.

Could anyone suggest a program (Blue Cross and Sheild
comes to mind) to review?

Many thanks,
Karen

Wuvie,

I had to post my thread here too, as I am looking to add more coverage than my plan has now, no maternity care.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/596434/

But you may want to try who I have, Unicare. It's about 140 a month for just me and the DH and our co-pays are very low.

Thanks, I will check that out.

:-)

It seems there aren't that many great insurance plans for individuals out there or else people just don't know of any to recommend? I'm still on the search myself. I don't have a problem with an employer not providing me a health plan but I do find it annoying I can't get the same kind of plans an employer can be purchasing I guess....it's weird.

But I emailed for a rep to call me from SWBC. My husband has heard they offer great plans and since he wants to start his own business (but they also offer personal plans) they might be a good place to check.

http://www.swbc.com/

This message was edited May 13, 2006 9:23 PM

Update:

I canceled my Unicare. In the year I've had them I tried to get them to cover something covered once a year as an annual exam (a pap) and they denied it citing that it was done by an OBGYN and not a general practitioner? Come on! When that excuse didn't wash with DH they quoted the fine print that says they have the right to refuse any claim....but that we were welcome to resubmit it.

Plus they sent notice of a rate increase with MANY dropped benefits.

For our savings now by canceling my DH says we'll have the BEST INSURANCE PLAN, it's called the Ben Franklin 100% plan and works like this =):

There is no monthly fee, unless you use it.
It covers 100% of visits and prescriptions.
You can see any doctor or specialist you want.
There are no claim forms to fill out.

It comes from your own pocket! I do use AHCO https://www.ahco.biz/members/index.cfm?id=14766 which offers a DISCOUNTED RATE, they don't actually pay anything, but get the discounts and pass on to you like YOU are the insurance company. So this helps and that's what I'll be using.

Wow, Tir-Na, you have great timing!

Hubby and I were just discussing this yesterday! Thanks!

I used to work in customer service at an insurance company and picked up quite a bit of info. It's hard to recommend any particular company because it's not necessarily the company that's the problem but the specific plan you have that will determine your coverage. I do know that for the majority of companies if you are buying your own insurance not thru an employer you have to call direct markets for the state in which you reside, for example if you live in Illinois, you have to call Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and not BCBS of CA to buy a policy. Each state has their own and they have several packages to choose from. Something to watch for are your maximums, especially on wellness visits. Some will give a dollar amount and others will give a visit max and it is based completely on the diagnosis the doctor puts on your claim. You may think you're going in for a medical exam and if the doc puts a routine diagnosis on your claim, insurance will put it under your wellness visit and it uses up your max. I recommend getting info from multiple companies sent to you and doing a lot of research before you make any purchases. If you need help making a decision, let me know and I would be more than happy to help. Just d-mail me with any questions and I can take a look and let you know what I think if you want.

Welcome Wuvie. =)

Thanks Flower for the tips.

I found it so funny in calling around to BCBS and other locals and told them what plan I WAS on with Unicare....they all said that was the best private plan I could get. I even had one provider tell me NOT to buy Blue Cross maternity care as "if you could afford that you can afford to pay for your own pregnancy." You have to pay on that 12 months before being pregnant and of course each month that you are pregnant and at a rate that was over $300 a month! My bill to the doctor (in payment plan) is way less than that! LOL.

Well I figure if these are the best private plans I can get I'll have to stick with my Ben Franklin plan. =)

Wuvie,

Dave Ramsey (financial guru) says a lot of hype about this company who basically does an online search FOR YOU to find the best insurance rates (life to).

www.zanderinsurance.com