NWR: Health Insurance

curiousfool

Hi Ladies-Thank you in advance.  I recently graduated from law school in Boston, and am trying to make Boston my home.  You can probably guess I am still looking for work, but my student health insurance expired this past month.  My question is, has anyone had experience applying for and being accepted into MassHealth?  I really really can't afford Cobra, and with the MA state law that all residents must have health insurance, I don't know where else to turn.  I applied 2 weeks ago, and although the website says applications take appx 10 days to process, the gentleman I spoke with on the phone this afternoon said lately applications have been taking an average of 45 days to process.  I'm on a monthly prescription, and the pharmacy let me know today that my prescription (even the generic version) would be $62 without insurance coverage.  I'm a bit scared, to tell the truth, and if you're comfortable sharing, I'd appreciate some words of advice.

LucyD1029

Can you go on your FI's insurance?  I don't know too much about MassHealth, except it takes awhile for it to kick in.  Have you looked into some really basic BlueCross plans?  It might be cheaper than COBRA.

eouellet

Ugh, I'm in the EXACT.SAME.SITUATION. And my husband has terrible health insurance so I'm not about to go onto that (I too have monthly meds and need routine care, so I'm nervous too!) We are going to look into Assurant...not sure if you've checked that out or not yet.

foolforfood

For what it's worth, Walmart sells generics for $4, which is a lot cheaper than my insurance copay for the same generic drug.

Beantown Mama

I was on MassHealth when I lived in Boston. It was a little easier for me to get though since I am considered a "single" mother. The whole process of applying and everything is a nightmare. I spent countless hours on hold and talking to 348938 different people to get everything approved. It wasn't until I broke my wrist that they rush processed my application so I would be covered. Once covered though, the insurance is great. No co-pays, all my previous doctors accepted it, and Anthony was easily added onto mine when Fi lost his job. None of us are on it any longer since we live in NC but I plan to re-apply when we move back until Fi and I are married when I can go on his insurance. All in all it took about a month or 2 after sending in my application that everything was all set (and that was with the rush from the ER). HTH and good luck..

macreese66

It's not a state law in the sense that you "get in trouble" but you will not get a tax credit when you do your taxes, if you don't have health insurance. So it will cost you a few bucks for not having it. That being the case, you should be able to get reasonable priced health insurance in Mass. not just COBRA (which is, yes, expensive!) I think MassHealth has very low income guidelines. (but if you are currently unemployed, I would think you should qualify). Maybe if nothing else you could get a job while you are waiting to find your "real" job that has health insurance? If not, I think you might google "network health" for the Mass. health insurance plans. Also, if you had health insurance part if 2009, you might still get the tax credit so you don't get "fined" at tax time (but I am not sure about that). 45 days is ridiculous!!!

macreese66

Also, in the meantime, if you have AAA, a lot of pharmacies give a good discount on medications (CVS, Walgreens and others).

eouellet

Ugh, nevermind, of course Assurant isn't available in MA. Figures.

lukasavr

I applied for MassHealth when I got laid off a few years ago.  I didn't pay much attention to the process because I never used it, but I feel like I was accepted in pretty quickly.  Of course, this was before ALL the layoffs, so I'm sure there were quite a few less applications to process.  Good luck!

laurenc192

Don't forget about samples. Call your doctor and see if they will sympathize with your situation and possibly give you some samples to hold you over between now and when you can get insurance. They may want to charge you, but most reasonable heathcare providers would rather you not go without monthly meds. Usually md's have a sample closet of the brand name meds that they write scripts for. I realize this is only a quick fix, but just thought I'd put in my 2 cents as someone who works in the biz

nikkiblueeyes823

I'm not sure where you lived but when I worked for the city I couldnt pay the COBRA they had when I was going to school... I lived in Somerville at the time so I went to Cambridge Health Alliance and they set me up with what is now the whole MassHealth thing. It wasnt bad at all the process was fast. The first few years I didnt pay a dime. Then I did have to pay a pretty big deductible because I got a good raise but it was worth it.

Hadley2B

My full time job = I work at a health insurance company in MA.  My advice goes along with what laurenc192 and fool for food said: shop around at different pharmacies.  Walmart is notoriously cheaper, but only on certain medications (even with insurance in many cases, they are cheaper).  CVS is the MOST expensive, so I'd advise to stay away from them.Call your doctor; samples are free and oftentimes they are willing to help (especially now).Otherwise; COBRA is so expensive. A new website was launched very recently www dot ehealth dot com   Enter your zip code and you will be able to see all the health plans offered in your area.  The top 4 in MA are (in no particular order) Blue Cross, Tufts Health Plan, Fallon Community Health Plan and Harvard Pilgrim.  For what it is worth; stay away from Aetna, Cigna and United.  Good luck and don't panic...it will all work out:)

SummerBoston10

Have you looked on the Commonwealth Connector's website?  (https://www.mahealthconnector.org/portal/site/connector/)You can purchase health insurance through this website at the "group" rate.  I purchased a plan through this website after I graduated from law school until I found a job.  They have reasonable plans.  My FI is self-employed and this is how he purchases his health insurance as well. 

Krystalynne21

Curious, I work in human services and deal with Masshealth allll the time. Depending on which regional office you are in, it can differ.  Working with the Tewksbury office is usually torture, while I find that people in the Taunton region have no problems.  The good thing is, even if you get an approval later later, it will retro back (I think to the date of application).  Make sure you respond to everything ASAP.  ANd I would definitely send everything in with delivery confirmation-we have had trouble with this in the past at my job.  They will drop you if you don't reply by the due date, and it takes quite a bit longer to get back on.  HTH

2dBride

I can't help with MassHealth.  However, I can tell you that my health insurance essentially covers catastrophic care (over $2,500 a year) only.  And I have a lot of prescriptions I need to take.  For prescriptions, you might look at Costco.  You do not need to be a Costco member to buy prescription medications from them, and their costs are usually much lower than local pharmacies.

curiousfool

Thanks ladies!I have a part time job right now, doing legal research at home, but it's only 20 hours a week. I can't join FI's insurance. Even though he's older than the age cut off for most insurance companies, his parents have been kind enough to extend his insurance coverage through them until he gets a job.Is MassHealth really retroactive?  I have an appointment with a clinic in 2 weeks to get a refill on my prescription (I only have 1mo left on my current prescription), and it would be great to know if I could possibly get reimbursed for the clinic fees.