4 ms·

This is a hard one for me. My wife and I want/need a good plan. One that doesn't require us to get referrals, and has good coverage for medication. I would happ

This is a hard one for me. My wife and I want/need a good plan. One that doesn't require us to get referrals, and has good coverage for medication. I would happily pay for this plan, but I can't seem to find one on my own. Nothing is comparable to what I currently have through my employer.

mawise 5y ago
If you're in the US, have you explored https://healthcare.gov https://healthcare.gov ?
atweiden 5y ago
In the US, decent health insurance plans are all corporate. Particularly if you want something non-HMO with reasonable out-of-state coverage. A few states have laws on the books which compel health insurance companies there to sell corporate health insurance plans to sole proprietors and single member LLCs. Florida is one example. (Florida also tends to have some of the best health insurance options in general in the US, at least as of several years ago.) Sadly, just because the state law says health insurers must sell corporate plans to sole proprietors and single member LLCs doesn’t mean those health insurers will happily sell you a corporate plan without a fight. For example, I tried to buy a corporate health insurance plan via a Florida sole proprietorship, per the state law. Every Florida insurer I contacted refused to sell me a corporate plan. I ended up calling the FL regulators who ensured me Florida law indeed does compel these companies to sell me the plan. They either just didn’t want to sell me the plan, or their corporate division was entirely unfamiliar with working with sole proprietors. I left the US shortly thereafter. If I were in the US, I’d try for a corporate plan again, maybe even in Florida. Unless something has changed, the alternative is far worse. E.g. paying $600+ per month for a plan with essentially zero out-of-state coverage, a deductible so high it almost makes no sense to even have the insurance plan at all for a healthy young person, and a bunch of weasely out clauses that let them screw you over even if you pay them ludicrous sums of money. Plus if you’re on an individual plan, the health insurers tend to systematically deprioritize you compared to their corporate customers who have far more bargaining power than you do. I would sooner go uninsured, or leave the US entirely.

mawise 5y ago

If you're in the US, have you explored https://healthcare.gov https://healthcare.gov ?

atweiden 5y ago

In the US, decent health insurance plans are all corporate. Particularly if you want something non-HMO with reasonable out-of-state coverage. A few states have laws on the books which compel health insurance companies there to sell corporate health insurance plans to sole proprietors and single member LLCs. Florida is one example. (Florida also tends to have some of the best health insurance options in general in the US, at least as of several years ago.) Sadly, just because the state law says health insurers must sell corporate plans to sole proprietors and single member LLCs doesn’t mean those health insurers will happily sell you a corporate plan without a fight. For example, I tried to buy a corporate health insurance plan via a Florida sole proprietorship, per the state law. Every Florida insurer I contacted refused to sell me a corporate plan. I ended up calling the FL regulators who ensured me Florida law indeed does compel these companies to sell me the plan. They either just didn’t want to sell me the plan, or their corporate division was entirely unfamiliar with working with sole proprietors. I left the US shortly thereafter. If I were in the US, I’d try for a corporate plan again, maybe even in Florida. Unless something has changed, the alternative is far worse. E.g. paying $600+ per month for a plan with essentially zero out-of-state coverage, a deductible so high it almost makes no sense to even have the insurance plan at all for a healthy young person, and a bunch of weasely out clauses that let them screw you over even if you pay them ludicrous sums of money. Plus if you’re on an individual plan, the health insurers tend to systematically deprioritize you compared to their corporate customers who have far more bargaining power than you do. I would sooner go uninsured, or leave the US entirely.