Vent: COBRA insurance, seriously??

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You are reading page 2 of Vent: COBRA insurance, seriously??

Anne36, LPN

1,361 Posts

And No, I dont support Obama and his insurance reform.

Its going to end up causing more problems than it solves in the long run.

MAFDC08

99 Posts

We do need some type of reform.

The sheer fact that they (ins. companies) can deny someone coverage for a preexistng condition is a crying shame. Imagine not being allowed to buy coverage on your own...Forget the premium amount--you're just not "coverable."

Most people end up in poor health at some point in their life, whether it be from an accident or an illness. Being deemed "pre-existing", really blows...Big time.

kcochrane

1,465 Posts

A lot of people who did not support insurance reform are ending up on the wrong side of the insurance experience all of sudden. You help make the bed but now you don't want to sleep in it do you. Do you see what all the fuss was about now?

Not being in support of Obama's plan does not equal to not being in support of insurance reform. Many people feel something needs to be done, but may not always agree how to do it.

To the OP, even 6-7 years ago, when I was laid off, it was $900/mth for a family plan...more than my mortgage. When I asked how much a plan would cost without COBRA, I was quoted $1,500. 10 years prior to that it was $320/mth for COBRA. Go figure how that ended up going up that much. Hope you can get a break.

kcochrane

1,465 Posts

we do need some type of reform.

the sheer fact that they (ins. companies) can deny someone coverage for a preexistng condition is a crying shame. imagine not being allowed to buy coverage on your own...forget the premium amount--you're just not "coverable."

most people end up in poor health at some point in their life, whether it be from an accident or an illness. being deemed "pre-existing", really blows...big time.

you cannot be denied due to preexisting conditions if you have not had a break in insurance for more 63 days...

title i also limits restrictions that a group health plan can place on benefits for preexisting conditions. group health plans may refuse to provide benefits relating to preexisting conditions for a period of 12 months after enrollment in the plan or 18 months in the case of late enrollment.[color=#002bb8][1] however, individuals may reduce this exclusion period if they had group health plan coverage or health insurance prior to enrolling in the plan. title i allows individuals to reduce the exclusion period by the amount of time that they had "creditable coverage" prior to enrolling in the plan and after any "significant breaks" in coverage.[color=#002bb8][2] "creditable coverage" is defined quite broadly and includes nearly all group and individual health plans, [color=#002bb8]medicare, and [color=#002bb8]medicaid.[color=#002bb8][3] a "significant break" in coverage is defined as any 63 day period without any creditable coverage.[color=#002bb8][4]

some health care plans are exempted from title i requirements, such as long-term health plans and limited-scope plans such as dental or vision plans that are offered separately from the general health plan. however, if such benefits are part of the general health plan, then hipaa still applies to such benefits. for example, if the new plan offers dental benefits, then it must count creditable continuous coverage under the old health plan towards any of its exclusion periods for dental benefits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/health_insurance_portability_and_accountability_act

just found that out after switching jobs and being concerned about switching insurance programs with my husband who has health issues.

i forgot also..to the op, check to see if you state has some kind of health adult type program. nys has it and it is about $103 for a single plan/mth.

elkpark

14,633 Posts

I wish that all employers would do what my last 2 have done: indicate on your pay stub what they are paying for your health insurance. In most cases, employees for medium and large organizations (including hospitals and LTC groups) pay less than half of what the employer is charged by the health insurance provider and have no idea what the total cost is. And premiums typically go up 10-15% per year.

Only when the average citizen understands in real dollar terms what kind of profits are generated by the current insurance system will there be a chance for any real reform in this country.

This is what I keep explaining to people when I find myself in conversations about reform -- most of the people who are "happy" with their current coverage in all those polls have NO IDEA what their current coverage actually costs. A shocking percentage of people believe that the $75, $100, whatever, a month that shows up on their paycheck stub is the full cost of the insurance -- HA! Most people don't think twice about it until they suddenly find themselves looking at COBRA coverage, and that's the first time they've ever found out the actual price of their coverage.

I am currently working prn, so not offered insurance by my employer, and buying insurance on the "individual" insurance market. My policy is up for renewal (for the first time -- I just started it last year), and I have already been informed by the insurance company that my policy premium is going up almost 15% (of course, they didn't say we're increasing your premium 15%; they told me how much the new premium was going to be, and I did the math myself). This is at a time when the US inflation rate is ~2%, and they have not paid out a penny for me in the last year! (The few healthcare costs I had during the previous year didn't meet my deductible.)

They have a v. clever marketing gimmick, though -- they first sent me a letter telling me that my renewal premiums were going to increase by 25%; BUT, I might be eligible for the "healthy living discount" -- if I answered their little questionnaire and returned it to them, they would see whether I qualified (the questions were things like do you always wear your seatbelt when you drive; do you smoke; have you been recommended to have any major surgery that you haven't had yet (that was my favorite :))). I was able to give the "right" answers to all the questions, returned the questionnaire, and have since been notified that, hallelujah!, I qualify for the "discount," so my premium is only going up the 15%. I guess I'm supposed to feel "special" and touched by their generosity and concern for my health and wellbeing. And, mind you, I shopped far and wide in the first place, and this was the best deal I could find in the individual insurance market ...

Itshamrtym

472 Posts

Just be careful.... I would pay that bill now... It took my husbands employer a long time to get the bill to us and then they wanted the months we were without insurance in addition to the current month!!! So even though it was only 35% of premium we couldn't come up with previous months... Good luck to you!!!!

island40

328 Posts

Specializes in ICU, School Nurse, Med/Surg, Psych.

I have been on COBRA - had a hard time paying the $550/month premium but better than having a flare of my IBD. this was back in 2003. My cousin was on Cobra same time frame and paid about $1200/month but she has MS. Just think what it would cost if you had a chronic, incurable disease?? :)

elprup, BSN, RN

1,005 Posts

Yep, my COBRA is $1645 a month for myself and 2 kids!!! OMG. Thankfully Obama's plan cuts it down to over $500 - but still! Outrageous

runkaterun

12 Posts

I am starting nursing school so i had to quit mu full time job because they were not flexible on hours. I have epilepsy, have been without seizures for years and was denied coverage under a private insurer, COBRA i was quoted 500 a month. I haven't got the paper work in yet, but I can't not have HI because I need my meds and it was required for school and plus I have a B12 deficiency and go to a hematologist once a month and get blood work and a B12 shot......otherwise i don't go t the dr unless i'm really sick.

S.Gettes

60 Posts

When i recently did some research on private health care cover insurance for myself and then decided that i would also like to add my family (partner and two children at that time, now three children) I was gob smacked to discover that for basic hospital cover i would need to pay $500 per month, $300 for the first hospital visit also, and nothing for subsequent visits in the year after that, at the start of a new year on the cover i would need to pay for the first hospital stay yet again. If i wanted to include dental, optical etc in my cover it was going to cost me even more than this. At that time I was not working and my partners wages barely covered the living expenses and the bills, this cover was out of my reach. Something does need to be done, Maybe some kind of scheme when you are working where you pay a little extra out of your weekly wages and it goes into a private health insurance fund where you accumulate the funding over time so that when you do no longer work and need the health cover you can access this fund and use the money from it to pay for the insurance expenses if you get what i mean. They definately need to do something.

RNMLIS

71 Posts

My former employer will not 'allow' me to receive the COBRA subsidy,,,I went out on FMLA disability leave and aftr 12 weeks I was still unable to work.

I was put on COBRA but it was 'detrmined' that I was out of work 'voluntarly' (leave of abscence) 14 weeks later when I was involuntairly terminated they stated that I was not entitled to a second determination reflecting my new status which would enable me to get the subsidy.

So I am off temporary disability paying COBRA full freight and no job prospects as I am unable to return to the physcial demands of LTC/sub acute. I am appealing the denial by my former LTC employer (large east coast for profit LTC REhab corporation) I hope the appeal is granted but I am not holding my breath

MAFDC08

99 Posts

"You cannot be denied due to preexisting conditions if you have not had a break in insurance for more 63 days..."

Most of the time that is true for "group" plans or COBRA (which is a group plan), but to purchase an individual policy with a "preexisting" condition" much more often than not you are either denied coverage altogether or your particular condition (epilepsy like the previous poster said or heart condition, etc.) will be "excluded" from coverage. --Again, that's for indiv. policy and preexisting...

If you're fortunate enough to afford COBRA that's great, but it is only temporary...

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