Private Health Insurance

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I've been trying to start researching into private health insurance, but all I've ended up with is nonstop phone calls from people trying to recruit me into buying theirs. I literally got probably 6 phone calls within a 2 minute time span at one point. I probably could've and should've listened to one of them, but instead I got annoyed and told them all not to call me again.

I don't want to do my travel nurse agency insurance, as I have been talking with multiple companies and I can't be sure that I'll stay with only one company from assignment to assignment.

Does anyone have any recommendations for health insurance? I am a 26yr old female and healthy other than mild asthma. I mostly just want something as a "just in case" backup. It would also be great to have stuff like yearly ob-gyn visits covered, but not a necessity I suppose.

Thanks!

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Specializes in Adult Nurse Practitioner.

There is a big push right now to get people "on board" before the new impact on insurance take place in October. I currently have BCBS, but will be changing to a different plan in the same network in October so it will be cheaper.

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Try your local flavor of BCBS. I'm more than twice as old as you, with one pre-existing, and I'm paying a bit over $200 a month for BCBS insurance. It does have a $5,000 deductible (my choice), but it gets you access to insurance negotiated prices to providers, ERs, prescriptions, and labs at huge savings over not having any insurance. Think of it as being $7,500 maximum out of pocket per year - great for catastrophic coverage and healthcare access. I managed to come close to that one year only with a couple of procedures.

One checkup per year is mandated exclusive of any deductible (paid in full by insurance). So are certain other things like pap smears and colonoscopies for the right indications (female and age respectively).

Your agency is allowed to pay you a tax-free stipend in lieu of their insurance with proof. Not all will make it worth your while, but in almost all cases such as yours (young and healthy), private insurance will cost much less than group health.

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Specializes in They know this too!.

Interesting. I did not ever know!

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Specializes in ICU/CCU/CVICU.

Thanks for the info, Ned. I've also been bombarded with calls and emails...and no info to help me decide. I'm currently on a BCBS plan through my employer...however, they are based in another state and I can't apply for the same plan. Oh, what a headache! I'm a healthy 30yo female with no pre-existings...shouldn't be that difficult to find a plan

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You can COBRA that existing plan but it is likely to be expensive as I'm guessing it is group health. You can shop BCBS online and pick the deductible you want. I would recommend the highest one you can afford: for example, if you have 5K in the bank or can at least raise that much if needed, take a 5K deductible. The plans seem to be weighted towards less expensive if you share the risk and you will save a significant amount of money annually if nothing bad happens. If something really bad happens, you have everything covered over your deductible (just watch that you stay with preferred providers but usually everyone you go to accepts BCBS and most hospitals).

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It's really hard sorting out the different health plans. They all seem to have something different. The brokers can be a help because they listen to what you need and recommend something that suits your need. Just be careful that they are not aligned to one insurance company so that they give you a biased opinion. There are also plenty of places online where you can fill out questionaires and get given the most appropriate plan.i.e Privatehealthcover.com

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