buying own health insurance

[n_a_t]

first of all i'm not sure if this belongs in the finance forum, but i can't find a better place for it.

has anyone here done it? i will switch my employers next july and my health insurance monthly premium will go up from ~36/month too ~100/month. i'm a 29 year old woman who has very low healthcare utilization, nor much time for it, i am also not planning near-future pregnancies. i'm more of a healthcare provider than consumer. anyway, i see no reason to pay for a service that i don't need and won't use.

i just looked up on some website (ehealthinsurance.com, which i don't know how reliable this is) insurance plans for my area, it seems that i can get one for 44/month, but that has a deductible of $5,000/year. this is fine with me, as i don't intend to use it, but it would be nice to have insurance in case there was need for it.

supposedly buying own health insurance is difficult and expensive. the quote that i found doesn't seem too bad compared to what my future employer offers. i'm wondering if this is an error or if the people having problems finding own insurance have pre-existing conditions, are older, have young dependents, are smokers, or whatever else would make their premiums higher.

anyway, does anyone here have any helpful thoughts or suggestions? do you think it's unreasonable to just sign up for whatever they offer?

thanks for any comments or suggestions!

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[Pose]

I have no suggestion. But I'm a 19 year old male that pays ~250/month for my insurance through an employer. Ouch.

Perhaps you could get the specs on both the online plan, and that of your future employers, and compare.

 

[mshheaddoc]

I have a plan with ehealthinsurance.com and it doesn't really cover much. For the first year, you can't have any preventive care. So my physical I needed for school wasn't covered. Also, there were limited physicians in my "network" so I had to pay for an urgent care facility out of pocket. I should have gone to the ER because that would have been covered but I thought I was saving a few bucks (and being admitted to the hospital) but going to the urgent care.

I think their insurance is a sham for the most part and you really have to "read in between the lines". If you don't get an annual gyn exam and aren't on BC, then you probably don't have much need for anything the first year or you could just pay for it all out of pocket. But its always when you NEED something you don't have it.

Usually for single people its not a bad deal but when you are trying to insure a family and kids, sometimes all the visits end up being costly. If you don't have a good insurance plan that allows you to visit a doctor with a co-pay (most of those plans on e-healthinsurance.com don't by the way - although a few did allow like 5 visits a year) then you have to pay out of pocket with your deductible. For a family of 4 living on $50K a year, this is where things get sticky ....

There are some good plans out there for singles. For $100/mn (if its good coverage) its nice to have good insurance, rather than skimp of the $50 and end up with something happening and an insurance company where you "didn't read the fine print". And let me tell you, after shopping for my own insurance last year and looking at about 20-30 different plans, there is ALOT of fine print out there.

JMHO from someone who has shopped insurance and can't wait to have an employer plan in July!

 

[Miami_med]

$344/month to insure myself, a wife, and kid on an independent plan through BC/BS of Florida. It includes maternity and has a $2500 deductable. All preventative care is covered with a $20 copay, along with primary care visits. If you aren't going to use it, go with a high deductable. That way, you won't go bankrupt if you have a bad car accident or get cancer. You'll be able to borrow $5,000 from somebody (even a credit card) in the rare event that you actually need care.

Insurance needs to overcharge you to make money. Insurance only makes sense if it covers risks that you cannot possibly afford to pay for at a price that you can afford to pay.

 

[Faebinder]

What about utilizing a medical savings account?

 

[LADoc00]

I pulled up quotes from Blue cross for my age (early 30s) and the price was 121/mo. The deductible was very reasonable (2,000/yr) and the copay (30) considering my income level (several hundred K). At the price there is no wonder my income from Blue cross is so low. That is an insane bargain. Healthcare at approximately the same price as my care insurance, internet+cable and less than a dinner in San Fran.