Finding your own health insurance?

Question

My husband will be getting a new job soon and they don't have insurance. We need insurance for our family. I have a 2 yr old son and I am pregnant also. DO you know a good insurance company that doesn't cost an arm and a leg? How do I find all this info?

Answer 1

You won't be able to find new insurance since you're pregnant, however, if you've had you current coverage for atleast 18 consecutive months, you'll be elligible for cobra.  But you only have 30 days from the time your current coverage ends to start it.  Cobra is a fed law that enables you to get coverage without exclusions or limitations, you can usually get it through any carrier, included the company you had your group coverage through.  The one thing the law left out is that cap on what you can be charged.  Which means although your guarenteed coverage, you're not guarenteed a good price.  I would expect you will pay over $600/mo for your family.  

good luck

Answer 2

You will need to visit a local agent that works with all the major companies to find the best plan for you.

Now, the bad news. No insurance company will write an individual policy on someone pregnant, and until a couple of weeks ago they won't write a policy on anyone in the household. In my state one company just announced they will write the family members. The agent will know if that company writes in your state and if they have the same offer in your state so you can at least get your husband and son on a policy.

You'll need to set up a payment plan with the doctors and hospitals to cover the birth. All hospitals and most doctors are willing to work with you.

You might be tempted by a medical discount card. Be very wary of these cards. They are not regulated by the Department of Insurance nor do the people that sell them need to be licensed. This means you have little recourse when you have problems with the plan. If you are tempted by the low price and claims of “save up to 80%” be aware that very few doctors actually take these cards. It does you little good if you have to drive 4 hours to find a doctor that will accept the card. Montana couldn’t find any doctors in the whole state that actually took the card and only one dentist who was on probation for unlawful activities so they banned the sale of the card and fined the company. See this link http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/wes... for more information. Many other states are starting to ban these cards as well.

Before signing up with any discount plan get a list of doctors. If they won’t give you a list consider it to be a scam. Call the doctors on the list to make sure they’re still taking the card (many don’t even know that they’re listed as a provider) and that they’re accepting new patients.