I need health insurance. What company do you use? Do you recommend them?

[motorcity]

My wife will be unemployed in a few days (I am self employed) and we will be no longer have health insurance through her work. When we were self insured many years ago, we were paying about $80 a month each. We rarely need to go to the doctor or emergency room, so we preferred to have extremely high deductibles and lower premiums. We just want to have our butts covered if we get hit by a truck or get cancer or something.

I have just started shopping around and, so far, similar plans now cost about 4-5 times as much.

Can anyone recommend insurance companies I should contact? My car and house are through State Farm, but I hope there is some company that will be more economical.

Who do currently have and what do you pay?

Do I need to start selling drugs to get enough money for health insurance?

[alstephenson]

1. They all suck.

[LisaM]

2. If you live in the Motor City now....

I recommend moving to Windsor and getting jobs there!

[grantcart]

3. you should maintain the one with your wife COBRA until you get new insurance

[Breeze54]

4. I use the MA Health Connector

http://www.mahealthconnector.org/portal/site/connector/

Welcome to the Connector!

We are the state's Health Connector. We can help you find the right health plan

Individuals & Families

Looking for health insurance without an employer’s help?

Individuals & Families - Shop Now --> http://www.mahealthconnector.org/portal/site/connector/menuitem.55b6e23ac6627f40dbef6f47d7468a0c/

--------------

Maybe they have some good idea's you can use in your state? :shrug:

[antigop]

5. please check into getting COBRA through your wife's place of employment

I think you can get 18 months of coverage.

It probably will not be cheap, but may be cheaper than what it would cost for you to purchase insurance on your own.

Best of luck to you and your wife. I'm sorry we live in a country where our health system is broken.

[skipos]

14. I don't understand the appeal Cobra

I have looked into them a couple of times over the years, they are always INSANELY expensive. It must be better for other people than it is for me.

[magellan]

6. My husband and I are both self-employed

There are group plans for self-employed small business owners which can reduce the premium a little. Check out your local small business partnership.

[Breeze54]

7. Health Care for Michigan Campaign

http://www.healthcareformichigan.org/

So what exactly IS the Health Care for Michigan Campaign?
Frequently Asked Questions

This is a campaign to reform health care so people that currently have health insurance will not lose their coverage and people that don't have health insurance will be able to get it. We need to bring down the high cost of health insurance so business that provide health coverage will continue to do so and be able to compete against global companies that do not provide health care because their home country does.

The key question is, are you worried about losing your health insurance? You are not alone if you are. We all know people who either don't have health insurance or have lost their insurance from being laid-off or know longer could afford it. Michigan spends a lot on health care, about $6,000 per-person per-year and yet:


* Health care costs continue to rise every year. Each year more residents lose their health insurance because they can’t afford it. Each year more businesses drop health coverage for their employees because the business cannot remain competitive and pay high health insurance costs.

* More than one million Michigan citizens have no health insurance at all. Hundreds of thousands more are “under-insured,” meaning they lack enough health coverage to pay for serious illness or injury.

* Hospital emergency rooms are being overwhelmed with patients who cannot get routine and preventative medical care because they cannot afford it. Hospitals provide care and then pass the cost onto those that have insurance which is one of the reasons why premiuns keep going up every year.

This causes needless worry, pain and suffering to Michigan families. It is wrecking our state’s economy; businesses that provide health insurance for their employees, like the auto companies, are competing with businesses from nations where health costs are much lower.

We know what the future will bring if we do nothing; higher costs, more uninsured, and a weaker state economy. We need to take action!

We need to control health care costs and provide health care coverage to every Michigan citizen! Our strategy is to amend the State Constitution that will establish health care as a critical state concern. This will put pressure on the State Legislature to take action. Our proposal says::

"The State Legislature shall pass laws to make sure that every Michigan resident has affordable and comprehensive health care coverage through a fair and cost effective financing system. The legislature is required to pass a plan that, through public or private measures, controls health care costs and provides for medically necessary preventive, primary, acute and chronic health care needs."

We need to collect a 475,000 signatures to get this amendment on the November 2008 ballot. You can help two ways:

1. Collect signatures. Go to the Get Involved page and give us your name, or go to the Get Petition page to print or download the petition.

2. Donate money. Go to the Donate page and make a contribution on-line or mail a check payable to “Health Care For Michigan”.

We need health care reform to protect our health care insurancefor ourselves and families.

To do this we need your help and support!

Please join us is this incredibly important campaign!


John Freeman, Campaign Chair

[gateley]

8. I don't know if Progressive has health care insurance, but if so,

I've heard great things about the company here on DU. The head IS a Progressive, they give back to their community, etc.

[OhioChick]

9. Stay Away From

United Health Care. When I had them, I had to appeal nearly every single claim. I guess that's how they acquired those billion-dollar quarterly profits.

[noonwitch]

10. Blue Care Network-but it's through my job

I have no idea how much it costs, but I suspect it's on the higher end of things. It is the best PPO you can get, and it covers virtually everything, except the copay on scrips ($5 for generic, $10 for name brands-but that's my group coverage, not all).

[KitchenWitch]

11. You might be able to purchase health insurance at a fairly reasonable rate through Costco.

[Coyote_Bandit]

12. I have coverage through the

National Association of Self Employed. Runs about $250 per month. High deductible. I am femal 40 something and have no pre-existing conditions and minimal medeical history. No maternity coverage. Doctor visits are not covered.

Cheapest coverage I could find. COBRA coverage through my last employer over five years ago ran over $900 per month.

Truth be told lack of meaningful access to healthcare is my greatest reason for wanting to expatriate myself. Employment prospects and the long-term outlook for the US economt are secondary reasons. Politics is not a factor. It is all about the money.

[motorcity]

13. Thanks for the suggestions

I am looking into them right now.

[DemReadingDU]

15. Have you considered an HSA?

This is what I did, and so far, it has been a good insurance thing to do. We are in Ohio, and we chose Anthem Lumenos.

In order to do an HSA, you must have a high deductible insurance plan. Our deductible is $5000. Yeh, it's steep, but for my spouse and me who are in good health, the monthly premium is appx $400. Annual physical is free, annual mammogram is free, bloodwork might be charged $20. Prescriptions are full price which can get very expensive unless you get generics.

Another nice thing is that the deductible amount comes off your income so you don't pay taxes on it. Example, if you make $50,000, with $5000 deductible HSA, you only pay taxes on $45,000.

I decided to get the HSA at my own bank, and not the bank associated with Anthem. Because I chose my own bank, there was no fee to set it up. I was given a debit card to pay for prescriptions out of the HSA account.

Here is a link for additional info.

http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa/