It used to be an automatic decline with most insurance companies if the applicant was diagnosed with diabetes. Things have changed for the for those people who do not use insulin.
Case in point. I was asked to help a 60 year old find insurance coverage. Seems he had exhaused his Cobra benefits and did not want to pay the high cost for the guaranteed issue program under HIPAA.
His medication was generic so the cost was not the issue. The problem was that he did not know where to turn to obtain a reasonable price for coverage.
I approached both Anthem Blue Cross and Aetna. Both carriers would be willing to insure him at a small increase in premium. He chose an HSA plan from Anthem at a very reasonable premium. His policy was issued in under 3 weeks without any waiting period for pre-existing conditions.
Share This
Posted in California Health Insurance
There are several insurance companies who have lifetime limits of $100,000 to $1,000,000. While the latter amount seems to be high, many treatments will exhaust this in less than a year.
We never recommend plans with limits under $5,000,000. In fact, most carriers in California will offer even higher limits.
Why do you need a comprehensive plan with high lifetime limits. Take a look at this and then take a look at your current plan.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25644309/
Imaging, having a “good” insurance program and still going bankrupt!
Share This
Posted in California Health Insurance
You see advertisements for low cost plans - Family Plans for $49 per Month - or other seemingly amazing prices. These plans not only offer false promises of a discount on health care, but can have some people thinking they are offering protection.
One of the biggest issues is that these plans can only provide some help with those bills most of us can afford anyway. Office visits for $40 or $50 really is only a $15 discount off the typical cash price. Saving 40% on lab work only saves a few hundred dollars per year.
However, reducing the cost of a $100,000 surgery by 40% still leaves a bill of $60,000. What value is the “health plan” in that case?
Real insurance is not as expensive as most people think - PROVIDED THEY CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLAN.
Don’t do this on your own. It costs you nothing to use a professional who can show you copay plans, hmo plans, and hsa plans. You wouldn’t go to court without a lawyer - don’t buy insurance without using an agent.
Share This
Posted in California Health Insurance
Aside from the money saved on premiums, HSA plans generally have much lower out of pocket costs than traditional copay plan. I took a look at a 40 year old man in Los Angeles to see the range of pricing and out of pocket costs for various HSA plans.
Plan Name Monthly Premium Out of Pocket Maximum
Anthem Blue Cross Lumenos HSA 1500m $321 $1,500
Anthem Blue Cross Lumenos HSA 3000m $243 $3,000
Health Net Saver HSA 1800 $190 $1,800
Aetna PPO HSA 3000 $145 $3,000
I think the best value is the Aetna plan for $145 per month. With this plan you can fund $250 into an HSA account bringing a total monthly expenditure to $395. Between your fund and your insurance policy, you have no other costs for covered medical expenses.
And best of all, any of the money you don’t use in your fund is yours to keep.
This is why I love HSA plans!
Share This
Posted in California Health Insurance