Health insurance for dd who will turn 19 in May. She

[MJN]

will not be enrolled in school when she turns 19. She wants to work and take care of me as I go through chemo. So, we'll need to get her an individual policy and I have NO clue where or who to contact. Have any of you walked in these shoes? We know she'll go off dh's health ins. policy unless she is in school full time - 12 hrs. She is one that must have health insurance, not one that would qualify for Samaritan's either.

 

Thanks!

[Anita in NC]

Does she have a pre-existing condition? If so NC has a uninsurable medical pool that started in January '09. Rates are higher than at a traditional insurance company but probably your only choice if she has a pre-exisiting condition.

 

If she is healthy then you could get a quote from Blue Cross Blue Shield. I know there other providers in NC but can't think of any of their names right now.

[SapphireStitch]

My daughter is also 19, and we also live in NC and had to get insurance for her. I went through http://www.ehealthinsurance.com to get quotes and from there picked a plan from Celtic Insurance.

 

She is in very good health with no pre-existing conditions, so we were able to get her a high-deductible HSA plan for a little over $60/month. The one we chose allows her to have a couple of doctor visits a year with just a small copay, but I think anything beyond those visits she has to meet the deductible before they will pay anything.

 

I read a lot of reviews of insurance companies during this process and became VERY disillusioned. I feel like I have a better idea now why some people so greatly desire government intervention in health insurance. I have had a lot of health expenses over the years and have been very blessed to have great coverage through Dh's employer. But what people have to deal with outside of a company plan is a whole different ballgame.

 

We feel like Dd has to have insurance because she could be injured or become ill, but we feel like we are taking a big chance with ANY of the insurance plans that are available for individual purchase. None of the ones I read about had wonderful positive ratings...we just hope we don't ever have to make a claim.

[plansrme]

If your husband's policy is through his employer, and the employer has 20 or more employees, she should be eligible for COBRA because the loss of dependent status is a "qualifying event." Some states have their own individual conversion rights that apply to insured plans (not self-insured plans) in their states. These are sometimes referred to as mini-COBRA rights. While they are usually not as long as COBRA (18 months), they often apply regardless of the size of the employer.

 

If she has a pre-existing condition, some high-risk plans will require that she exhaust any available COBRA coverage before she is eligible.

 

Terri

[snickelfritz]

Others have made good suggestions for alternative options. Cobra, high-risk (this is VERY expensive in our state and requires 2 or 3 decline letters.)

 

To try the traditional route, you can call an insurance office and get quotes.

 

My MIL works for one that represents several insurance companies. When someone calls in, she gets a general medical background, age, weight, smoking or non, etc.... and gets quotes from multiple companies. There are some conditions that would cause coverage to be declined and there are some conditions where the person could be covered, but the condition expressely excluded.

[Nestof3]

Could she not get a quote from the company you have insurance for? If she has had insurance all along with you/husband, her pre-existing condition may not matter. I'm not sure about this, though.

[plansrme]

Just realized I misspoke earlier--a child whose qualifying event is the loss of dependent status is eligible for 36 months of COBRA, not 18. Eighteen mos. applies when the qualifying event is a termination of employment.

 

Terri