If you have an individual family plan for your health insurance...

[Julie in CA]

...did you use an insurance agent locally? Did you just submit an online application? Something else?

 

As per my previous thread, it's time to start lookin'. :confused:

$2700 per month is just too much!

[Amy loves Bud]

I saw that thread, Julie. We have an individual plan through BCBS Texas. We pay $330 per month for our family of five with no health problems. We signed on to this plan in 2002 after Bud lost his job and started his own business. At that time we paid only $200 per month, but we've added a family member and had a couple of critical birthdays since then.

 

Our deductible per person is $5000, with a $15K max per year; total out of pocket per year if three different people got sick would be $24K. We've been very healthy and saved enough in deductibles during the 7 years on this plan to pay for two years like that and still be ahead.

 

You just have to be willing to spend out of pocket on your health when you need it. That's my one caveat about a high deductible plan. If you need to go to the doctor, you need it whether insurance pays for it or not.

[coffeefreak]

HOLY COW BATMAN!!!! My dh switched jobs in October and our Health Insurance went from $275 a month to $600 a month. We called an agent and he did NOTHING for us. I don't think they really can. He couldn't give them any of my history, he couldn't sweet talk them into giving us the insurance. It was all dependent on our medical history and smoking v/s non.

 

I would do it on your own first and then, if you can't find anything or you want to pay for or you just want someone to run rates for you (about all they can do here), then I would go to Dave Ramsey's website and use one of his guys.

 

FWIW, we're paying $315 a month for 80/20 coverage, with a $2000 deductible. We get dental and vision included in that. It's not great but it's better than nothing. We also had to abandon Blue Cross Blue shield's insurance (we've been with them for 2 years) because they wanted me to get ALL my medical records from all my doctors for the last 5 years (I had a hysterectomy 2 years ago, and they didn't believe me that it "cured" me - they kept trying to diagnose me with other problems I don't have:banghead:). I had to pay for the copies and I had to pay for the shipping and then there was still no guarantee they would have taken me. That's why we went with someone else. BCBS would have been better coverage, but they were VERY frustrating to deal with. Unless you've had NOTHING happen in the last 5 year, be prepared to go around and around with them.

 

HTH! Good Luck!

Dorinda

[KristineinKS]

I filled out applications online after doing as much research into our options as possible. I work with health insurance companies every day & had a very good idea of what to look for, what to avoid, etc. I *totally* agree with Dorinda's post above about BC/BS - they can be super frustrating to deal with, we had them for awhile & NEVER again.

[Mekanamom]

I can't really help with personal experience (we have a good plan through DH's current company)...

 

But DH used to work for E-Health, and from what I understand, it makes shopping for insurance a bit easier.

 

http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/ehi/Alliance?allid=Mis23170

[Carol in Cal.]

Around here they are pretty good, and more or less the best deal around for families with young children, I hear.

 

For a while we had Kaiser and Blue Shield.

 

Kaiser was much better at day to day stuff than the best pediatrician I could find around here; more willing to do urgent care for ear infections in the evening, for instance; far more flexible in hours and for injections and such.

 

OTOH, it is very difficult to get to a specialist at Kaiser. Once you do, they are very, very good, IME, but there is quite a delay compared with working through Blue Shield.

[Julie in CA]

Around here they are pretty good, and more or less the best deal around for families with young children, I hear.

 

For a while we had Kaiser and Blue Shield.

 

Kaiser was much better at day to day stuff than the best pediatrician I could find around here; more willing to do urgent care for ear infections in the evening, for instance; far more flexible in hours and for injections and such.

 

OTOH, it is very difficult to get to a specialist at Kaiser. Once you do, they are very, very good, IME, but there is quite a delay compared with working through Blue Shield.

I had Kaiser the whole time I was growing up, and I would consider it now if it were in my area. That's a bit of a problem where I am--many insurance plans don't have very good coverage in my (rural) area. Years ago when I checked on insurance, we would have had to travel pretty far to see a doctor. It's probably changed by now. Still no Kaiser though.