Providing Health Insurance? What's Your Tactic?

[Greg B]

Do you have individual or do you have group for your company?

Anyone here have creative and affordable insurance?

It's amazing the variations and numbers of policies.

For you guys who have many employees how do you manage it?

[Honez]

My boyfriend and I got our own insurance through NASE (National Association of Self Employed). We get a group rate which means if we ever have a claim, they can't drop us. We pay about $265 a month for both of us and that includes vision and prescription drugs.

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by Honez

My boyfriend and I got our own insurance through NASE (National Association of Self Employed). We get a group rate which means if we ever have a claim, they can't drop us. We pay about $265 a month for both of us and that includes vision and prescription drugs.

No kidding? NASE was what I looked at too. You got group? Which provider did you go with, Blue Cross, Aetna?

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by Honez

My boyfriend and I got our own insurance through NASE (National Association of Self Employed). We get a group rate which means if we ever have a claim, they can't drop us. We pay about $265 a month for both of us and that includes vision and prescription drugs.

No kidding? NASE was what I looked at too. You got group? Which provider did you go with, Blue Cross, Aetna?

[Greg B]

Oops! Didn't mean to post that twice.

[Wizzo]

We have a sweet plan thru United Health... Mayor takes care of his peeps!

[FreeHugeMovies]

I use NASE as well

[Honez]

Originally Posted by Greg B

No kidding? NASE was what I looked at too. You got group? Which provider did you go with, Blue Cross, Aetna?

Yep, by joining the NASE you are automatically placed into the group plan when you get insurance. Our policy is with The Mega Life and Health Insurance Company. You should check into it.
http://www.nase.org/

Edit: Oops, I see you said you already looked into it so disregard that URL. For those of you looking for insurance, check out the NASE site ;)

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by Wizzo

We have a sweet plan thru United Health... Mayor takes care of his peeps!

United Health? Mayor must be the man! Tell us more!

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by Honez

Yep, by joining the NASE you are automatically placed into the group plan when you get insurance. Our policy is with The Mega Life and Health Insurance Company. You should check into it.
http://www.nase.org/

Edit: Oops, I see you said you already looked into it so disregard that URL. For those of you looking for insurance, check out the NASE site ;)

D'OH! I should have remembered that! These forms all blend into one big weird thing.

I remember because if I recall people who had pre-existing conditions used the NASE route to get insurance. That sound familiar?

[Honez]

Originally Posted by Greg B

D'OH! I should have remembered that! These forms all blend into one big weird thing.

I remember because if I recall people who had pre-existing conditions used the NASE route to get insurance. That sound familiar?

Yes, they will cover some pre-existing. I think there is like a 6-12 month rider on most though. The thing I like is that it is really hard for them to raise your rates or cancel you if you do become ill unlike other, non-group insurance plans.

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by Honez

Yes, they will cover some pre-existing. I think there is like a 6-12 month rider on most though. The thing I like is that it is really hard for them to raise your rates or cancel you if you do become ill unlike other, non-group insurance plans.

Yes, the only problem I had was that the underwriters couldn't get their people straight. I would get calls from 3 or 4 people representing the same company and got concerned.

I've been so busy updating my insurance files for the second time this year, ( did it at end of February) that I am just worn out.

There is a surprising twist in that the push to get everyone health care was cockblocked when Sen. Kennedy got busted for driving drunk. What an asshole. Here he was on the cusp of solving the problem and mysteriously he ends up busted for drunk driving etc. A real loss for the downtrodden.

Insurance is the most heavily regulated industry we have. It amazes me that smaller countries like Norway and some Islamic countries have health care. Makes you wonder who is really representing us.

[AdultStudioFeeds]

We have blue cross.

Each individual in the company can choose their own plan. Some do HMO, some PPO, etc.

Works out rather nicely.

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by AdultStudioFeeds

We have blue cross.

Each individual in the company can choose their own plan. Some do HMO, some PPO, etc.

Works out rather nicely.

Is that group?

[MrVids]

I'm about to let you in on a secret that I just found out about 2 months ago.

Check out Costco. With the executive membership you're eligible for health coverage through them (which is through Aetna). It was $200/month less than what I was going to pay with Blue Shield. I just recently quit my job, which also used Aetna. They've been a great insurance co to work with.

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by MrVids

I'm about to let you in on a secret that I just found out about 2 months ago.

Check out Costco. With the executive membership you're eligible for health coverage through them (which is through Aetna). It was $200/month less than what I was going to pay with Blue Shield. I just recently quit my job, which also used Aetna. They've been a great insurance co to work with.

Yes I had heard about Costco being group I thought it was a rumor. Sounds too good to be true. Where can we read up on it?

[pocketkangaroo]

This site is pretty nice as it compares all the top companies:

http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/

I got mine real cheap but I'm only 26 and don't need a lot of coverage.

[FunForOne]

mega life has some big gaps you dont find out about until you make a claim.

Alot of their deductibles are spread out on different services. They then make you satisfy the deductible each occurence instead of yearly. There low premium is directly related to not having to pay any claims. Read the fine print.


Also, true group coverage does not allow small companies to let their employees choose different coverages. That would be considered a "list bill" coverage which falls different than the advantages of group coverage. Ex) Group coverages are required to cover maternity, alcohol and drug abuse treatments. Those are additional costs on individual policies.


Best thing for a self employed person to do is buy a high deductible HSA plan. Your broker won't tell you about it unless you ask because it fairly inexpensive. Get tax advantages with the HSA plan and you benefit if you stay relatively healthy.

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by FunForOne

mega life has some big gaps you dont find out about until you make a claim.

Alot of their deductibles are spread out on different services. They then make you satisfy the deductible each occurence instead of yearly. There low premium is directly related to not having to pay any claims. Read the fine print.


Also, true group coverage does not allow small companies to let their employees choose different coverages. That would be considered a "list bill" coverage which falls different than the advantages of group coverage. Ex) Group coverages are required to cover maternity, alcohol and drug abuse treatments. Those are additional costs on individual policies.


Best thing for a self employed person to do is buy a high deductible HSA plan. Your broker won't tell you about it unless you ask because it fairly inexpensive. Get tax advantages with the HSA plan and you benefit if you stay relatively healthy.

I've been looking at the HSA options. Sounds too good to be true. The high deductibles can be tricky too with some policies. You have to fine tune and ask the specialists what they accept or not. It's sometimes too much for the average person to comprehend. It's like knowing the legislative branch in full.

[Greg B]

Originally Posted by pocketkangaroo

This site is pretty nice as it compares all the top companies:

http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/

I got mine real cheap but I'm only 26 and don't need a lot of coverage.

eHealthinsurance is the bottom line to finding comparable policies. The trick is HOW you go through eHealthinsurance. If you go through a company like NASE you get more goodies. If you go through MSN you get different goodies. Finding the right 'via' is the key.

I like the fact that you can get a kickass policy for under $200 with a reasonable deductible and copay. Just amazing. But beeeeee careful! Check with the specialists you want as some won't accept HMOs only PPOs and vice versa. A real pain in the ass. All you want is coverage you can live with not playing a game like Wheel of Fortune.