Finding a good health plan is difficult these days. Especially if your employer does not provide coverage or you are self-employed. However, there are ways to have decent coverage without spending a lot of money.
There are so many types of health plans it can be intimidating and as soon as now, it is better for us to know which ones to avail, and for us to look through cheap insurance quotes. Here are some of the more popular types of insurance.
Cobra
Cobra is a continuation of your employers health plan you can get when you leave employment. You are allowed coverage for 18 months. However, employers used to pay 75 to 80 percent of the coverage and they are no longer required to do that. So you will pick up the cost of the entire insurance coverage which may get expensive.
An Individually Underwritten Policy
This can be a cheaper health insurance if you and your family are quite healthy and do not use medical services often. You will have to investigate and talk with different companies to find the right mix of benefits and costs to you.
Get On Your Spouses Plan
If your significant other is on their company’s plan, you may be able to get family health coverage. This will cost a little more than the individual coverage. This is a good way to get coverage especially for those who have pre-existing conditions, as they legally cannot be denied coverage.
Health Risk Pool Coverage
A way to get cheap insurance for those who have pre-existing conditions is to join with a state’s risk pool coverage. However, these plans vary from states to state and some places do not provide adequate coverage so you will have to investigate thoroughly before taking this route.
A Health Savings Account
Another way to get cheap insurance is through a Health Savings Account (HSA). This combines a savings account with catastrophic high deductible health coverage. It works by allowing you to make tax – free deposits into a special savings account that is used to cover health care expenses. These expenses include co pays, medications, doctor visits etc. If you should become seriously ill the high deductible coverage kicks in to take care of expenses. However, you will need to pay the deductible which could be as high as $5,000. This is relatively cheaper health insurance than individual plans. An individual coverage will be about $3,050 per year. The money that isn’t used in the account rolls over each year and when you are 65, you can withdraw the remainder of the money.
Auriette says
When I left one job for another, it was three months before I could get my new insurance coverage. Cobra was going to be $400+ a month. Instead, I got “gap coverage” for less than half that much. I moved a couple of doctor’s appointments, just standard stuff, so they could be covered by the new insurance, but I had I developed any major problems (fell and broke my leg, had a heart attack, needed an emergency appendectomy), the gap insurance would have helped cover those bills.
In addition, most insurance companies want you to have continuous coverage; otherwise they may reject anything they perceive as a pre-existing condition, at least for the first few months. By having proof of continuous coverage, I shouldn’t run into any problems with that.
To find gap insurance, I called the local insurance company that handled the policies for the small non-profit I worked for. I would imagine that any independent insurance agency would be able to find a policy for you.
judy gardner says
thank u for sharing, i have not heard of some of these. while i currently have health insurance, there have been times when i didnt and couldnt get it cause of pre-existing conditions. nice to know about the options should i need them. thank u soooo much!
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