NWR: Any insurance people?

Brie2010

My insurance from grad school runs out at the end of the month.  COBRA is a really crappy option--it's fine, cost-wise, but we now live waaay out of network so the only thing that would be covered within a 4-hour radius of our house is emergencies.  I'm unemployed for the foreseeable future.  FI has great insurance through his job, but I do not want to do a JOP/fake wedding later on AT ALL.Does anyone have any suggestions for relatively decent insurance that won't bankrupt me and FI?  Or, alternatively, things to look for in plans?  I've gotten quotes online from a few places, but I'm having trouble figuring out what the differences are.  I'll only need it for 8 months, and I don't have any pre-existing conditions.  TIA.

bethsoontobebride

surprisingly State Farm has a health insurance plan that is what I believe is affordable....they have what they call temporary insurance and  you can either get the 6 or 12 month insurance.dont know if that helps but It wouldn't hurt checking into it.

jilybeans4

My work offers insurance to a "domestic partner", which is basically defined as someone who you live with and intend to continue to be with. It doesn't state anything about sex, etc, so its not just for gay couples. You do have to prove multiple things in order to get it though - I think something like both names on a bank account, records of purchases together, etc...not entirely sure. I asked about it when I started my job a year ago and FI and I were living together but not engaged. It sounded like more trouble than it was worth to us, since we each had health insurance through our work, but if your FI's company does something like this, might be worth looking into?

mocha beans

Do you live in a common law state?  FI talked to his insurance (BlueCross/BlueShield) and they said if we lived in a common law state, which we don't, they would cover me.

Brie2010

Thanks, beth.  I'll check that out.Jily, we already asked his work about domestic partner benefits.  It's a no-go.

Brie2010

Nope, not a common law state. 

LP11509

I currently have temp insurance through State Farm and it sucks monkey balls.  It covers almost nothing - I've had to pay out of pocket for every single medical expense I've incurred since I started coverage, including a visit to my PCP.  It doesn't cover anything that is considered "routine care". I also had to pay $75 for BC pills because it would not cover that. Not recommended.

Brie2010

Thanks, LP.  Good to know.  I just looked at their website and it looks kind of sketchy.

gkb0910

I'm the only employee at my work, so I have an individual Blue Cross/Blue Shield policy.  It's not all that cheap, but it's a PPO and I do have a pre-existing condition.  It'd be worth checking out for 8 months.  I pay every two months, so you would be only paying for what you need (ie, don't need to pay for a year of coverage).

jilybeans4

Oh...that sucks! Well, if you are healthy and have no pre-existing conditions, you probably only need emergency-only insurance anyway. Especially since it is only temporary. My sister has independent insurance (not sure what company, sorry) and she pays something like $100 a month, and has a deductible that is several thousand. She pays out of pocket for her BC, and goes to Doctors that allow those without insurance to be treated for a lower rate. If you just need a doctor for routine girl things, planned parenthood is great. I used to go there in college and they only charge what you can afford. If you are unemployed, it won't cost you much of anything. I don't think you are going to find a low deductible insurance that covers checkups. They don't exist (as far as my sister can tell...). But you mostly need something so that you are covered in case of an accident or major illness anyway, so dont' get too frustrated if you can't find anything else. Good luck!

LindyL

I've heard good things about BCBS's individual plans. Might be something to consider until a later date. If I'd stayed unemployed much longer, I probably would have gone with that.

squirrly

Brie, no personal experience with their insurance, but I deal with a different branch of Assurant at work.  They do individual health insurance:  [url]http://tinyurl.com/kkoq4l[/url].  Might be worth a shot.

agk0125

Ditto jilybeans. You won't get "real" coverage that lets you go for checkups or anything without paying an arm and a leg. I would just get some emergency insurance.Also ditto planned parenthood. I use them for my yearly exam and BC pills so I don't have "real" coverage either.Also start paying attention to commercials on tv for insurance companies. For some reason the ones I see commercials for are never available in my area, but that's probably because I live in stupid NYC.One more thing - go to your state's website and see if they offer a low income option. NY does, but it's actually kind of expensive considering what you get. If you're not working at all you might be able to join an even lower income program than the kind I am talking about.Stupid health insurance!!

lpstl

I work for an insurance company, first check to see if your state has any programs you would be eligible for. Next, you can get affordable private insurance if you don't have any crazy preexisting conditions. Some ways to go about researching this are: Check with your current car/home insurance agent on options. Find a healthcare broker to help you search, [url]www.nahu.org/[/url] is a good place to look for one. Check out online search engines like [url]www.ehealthinsurance.com/[/url] and [url]www.digitalinsurance.com/[/url].

squirrly

Also, not sure if this interests you or not, but a lot of restaurant jobs offer part-time employees insurance.  Waiting tables obviously isn't your career path, but it would give you something to do, let you make a little money, and give you an insurance option.  I did it as a side job when I first got out of school and my full-time job didn't offer benefits.  It actually ended up being fun.

missy68

AFLAC covers illness and injury but it isn't like daily health insurance - might be worth looking into. The company is a very good one. That may not help you to keep continuous coverage, though. I would also suggest BCBS, at least from a user's point of view. I know they offer individual plans, as PP's have said. AFLAC could be an additional coverage, if you need to get a bare bones plan from BCBS. Good luck, also with the posting you found earlier today.

Brie2010

Thanks.  We have a lot of stuff to go over tonight...hopefully we'll figure something out.

Brie2010

lpstl, since we're both in MO--do you know if there's any good state insurance programs here?  I'm googling and coming up with miles and miles of government red tape and zero useful answers.

lpstl

Brie, I completely forgot you're in MO. I work with Medicare, so I don't know off hand of any state programs for you (unless you look crazy good for your age). Let me poke around a bit and see if I can find something, if I can't I'll ask some people at work tomorrow.

Brie2010

Thanks!  Let me know if you find anything.I'm coming up with some reasonably priced plans--the coverage isn't fantastic for non-emergent stuff, but it's really just a temporary solution.

lpstl

Will do! I'm pretty sure there aren't any great programs in MO, but H actually gets awesome coverage through a health insurance broker (his firm only employs 4 people). I'll get the contact info from him when he gets back here with my fish tacos.

Brie2010

Hey, thanks.  I appreciate it."Fish tacos" always make me laugh.  Yup, I'm twelve.

lpstl

Damn, those were some good fish tacos. H has his broker's info at the office, so I'll page you tomorrow with the info.

agk0125

Brie- did you try going on your state's website? When I go to the NY site there's a health care section that provides lots of info.