health Insurance options for owner operators?

I was thinking that OOIDA has insurance available, check their website, my thought is, what is the point in paying $500 per month, when the deductible is $11,000? I think that you could easily beat that, just do your homework, and hang in there..

 

Bc/Bs customer for 15+ years, I pay 1300 a month now for a single plan low deductible . OOIDA does not sell health ins in my state. If there's a better way let me know. And don't blame the President. The health ins system was a mess long before he was a Factor.

 

When I was shopping for insurance, the OOIDA just wasn't offering anything I thought was worth buying...and I ended up finding my policy through the NRA and their endorsed insurance provider program.

I pay $117.47 per month for a BC/BS policy. $1750 deductible. Once I meet that deductible, BC/BS pays 80%, I pay the other 20%...up to $4750 max per year out of my pocket. Once I've paid $4750 towards my medical bills, BC/BS pays 100%. It is HSA compatible, too.

In the 5 years I've had the policy, I have had $0 in medical expenses...so it really bugs me that my premiums have doubled.

 

I too have BCBS, $238 /mo for just myself... 1200 ded with 80/20 with 5,000 max. Thank god its a 100% tax write off...

According to my Ins agent.... Ins co's will be raising rates. All I know is my scripts have doubled since numbnuts passed his health care "TAX"

 

Yes ive seen premiums have risen since H/C bill was passed even thothe President promised the people they wouldnt, i wish they would of passed a bill allowing us to buy insurence across state lines then this crap.

 

I would check around for better rates and lower deductibles. Blue Cross/Blue Shield has some plans that might be better for you. I believe Obamacare eliminated the health savings accounts. It is still a good idea to have money set aside for medical expenses. If Obamacare stands we will all be paying more for insurance premiums.

 

The advantage to the HSA is the tax deductibility of it. Under a normal insurance plan, you have those copays and out of pockets that aren't deductible until they get above 7.5% of adjusted gross income. But with an HSA, everything you put in the HSA is deductible, and you pay for all the goofy little stuff with the HSA. And it is amazing how you can negotiate costs using an HSA as well. I recently went to the ER (only because it was after hours and I didn't get back home before normal hours) to get my hand looked at for an infection. Got some antibiotics. On the following Monday, I called the billing office about the bill and said I would be paying cash out of my HSA. Since I was paying cash, they knocked 40% off the bill. I have had several instances over the years of negotiating discounts off of things like that because I was essentially paying cash out of the HSA. And even with the ER visit I had recently, the antibiotics I had to take, the total cost between my lower cost high deductible BC/BS health plan and what I paid out using the HSA still was LESS than if I had a traditional 80/20 health plan that cost $1200-$1300 a month. And I got 100% tax deductibility that I wouldn't have had by paying a copay using traditional insurance.

I will concede, that a high deductible health plan and HSA is not ideal for everyone. But for many, it is the best way to make your dollar go further. We need to start viewing health insurance the same as auto insurance or home insurance. You don't get auto insurance to cover your oil changes and replace your shocks. You get it for the time you are in an accident and need major repair. Health insurance should be viewed the same way. I don't need insurance to go see the doc. Only after I go there and the doc finds something seriously wrong. The office visits I can negotiate a better price, I can use alternative name brands or generics on any prescribed meds, etc and get full tax deductibility. Meanwhile what I don't use out of the HSA just rolls over and collects interest... tax free.

Even if someone doesn't have all the money built up in the HSA to cover all their deductible, if something were to happen and you had to pay out that bigger deductible, you could do it in payments still using the HSA to get full tax deductibility. Before paying any on a medical bill, put funds in the HSA and then pay the bill from there. Don't pay direct, otherwise you lose the deductibility.

Over the almost 5 years I have had a high deductible health plan and HSA, I have saved one heck of a lot of money and avoided a lot of taxes. It has been well worth it.

 

Thats really smart on their parts ... ( not ) raise rates and force people on the Government plan .. Brilliant
in 2014 when the Gov plan goes into affect . I bet a dime to a dollar you will see insurance company's fall by 2016

 

The place I go to find my health insurance is E- Health I've always had good luck finding decent affordable plans their and you can compare them and mix and match and add stuff such as dental , life. , etc if you want . Real easy to work with