An interesting article about Health Insurance from the Journal. Unfortunately, most of it seems to be tailor made only for those who have severe medical problems:
“Nine times out of 10, if you can get access to employer-sponsored group coverage, take the employer-sponsored policy,” says Karen Politz, a research professor at the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute. “Dollar-for-dollar, you get a lot more protection.”
This is true especially if you have serious health issues that would eliminate you from qualifying for individual coverage. However, if you’re healthy, it’s possible that the plan at work is not the best option. If you do get your plan through work ask about plans that qualify for HSA accounts where you can save up your money for unhealthier times.
If you do not have group coverage, the article illustrates some pretty gloomy scenarios:
Under federal law, you can’t be denied coverage on medical grounds in an employer-sponsored health plan. By contrast, in the majority of states, insurers offering individual policies can permanently exclude pre-existing conditions, such as high cholesterol, or deny you coverage for chronic illnesses, such as diabetes. The states where you can’t be denied coverage are New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont.
Unfortunately in those latter states the guaranteed renewability has made Health Insurance so expensive as to be useless. And most states have “high-risk pools” where even the uninsurable can get coverage, with some restrictions, and sometimes (emphasize sometimes) even be better off than paying for COBRA.
Employer-sponsored group policies are also likely to provide certain benefits, such as maternity care, that individual plans typically don’t. A normal pregnancy and delivery can cost $8,000 to $12,000.
“Typically” doesn’t mean never. Anthem and CareFirst both offer maternity coverage for individual policyholders.
Finally, though, the article gets to a better scenario:
If you are healthy, purchasing an individual policy, such as a high-deductible health plan, and opening a tax-free health savings account, or HSA, could be the best option. A Humana PPO policy in Florida with a $5,200 deductible will cost a healthy 54-year-old woman $168 a month. In 2007, she could put as much as $2,850 in a HSA.
“Savings not needed to pay for the deductible and other out-of-pocket medical expenses can accumulate in HSAs for years,” especially if you are young and open an account, says Carolyn McClanahan, founder of Life Planning Partners, a financial-planning company in Jacksonville, Fla.
Start your research a year before you plan to leave your job and enlist the help of an independent insurance agent. See your state insurance department’s Web site for listings.
Hey, does anyone know an independent insurance agent who specializes in Health Insurance? Maybe you should consult your state insurance department’s Web site for listings. Or just shoot me an email.