RE: health insurance for individuals?

Subject: RE: health insurance for individuals?
From: "Lauren" <lauren -at- writeco -dot- net>
To: "'Rob Hudson'" <caveatrob -at- gmail -dot- com>, "'techwr-l List'" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:46:21 -0700

> From: Rob Hudson

> Hi all,
>
> This is slightly off-topic, but still of pressing interest to
> contractors and consultants, I imagine. Where is the best
> place to get
> health insurance as an individual if you have a few
> pre-existing conditions?

When I had a pre-existing condition, I was denied insurance from everyone,
except discount plans, which are not exactly "coverage." The type of
condition that I had required surgery, but other pre-existing conditions may
not preclude insurance.

Your location determines your options. For example, if you are on the West
coast, then Kaiser is an option, but on the East coast, it is not. Also, I
do not know what is offered in areas other than my own.

The best way to get insurance if you are denied coverage, is to get a job at
a place like Starbucks Coffee that offers insurance to part-time employees
rather soon. After you have been with that insurance for whatever requisite
time that your self-insurance carrier requires, then you can quit your job
and you will have the previous insurance that you need to get past the
denial.

If you cannot get any insurance on your own, then you should see if your
state offers a major risk program. I had to use California's Major Risk
Medical Insurance Program (MRMIP, "Mr. Mip") to get coverage. Regular
coverage for me, if I could get it, would have been around $200 per month,
but under MRMIP, my coverage was $500 per month. I had a 3-month exclusion
period where I could not be seen for anything related to my medical
condition. They even denied giving me results for a blood test from
December until February when the exclusion period ended that showed I was
moderately anemic. I could have really used that information. I paid for
the insurance and let it lapse after I had surgery and all of my follow-ups.
Later, I was able to get insurance for $140 per month through Blue Shield's
(Anthem, now) HSA program, Lumenos. With an HSA, you can save money in like
an IRA for medical care and get all of the tax benefits of saving.

Here's one web site about it, but I'm not endorsing any particular provider,
http://www.health--savings--accounts.com/blue-cross-of-nevada.htm.

MRMIP,
http://www.mrmib.ca.gov/MRMIB/MRMIP.shtml.

You have to be denied insurance before you can get coverage under MRMIP and
I think that provision is consistent with other states that offer similar
programs.

Where are you located? Have you already been denied coverage?

Lauren




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OT: health insurance for individuals?: From: Rob Hudson

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