Health insurance | Imamother

amother

Sun, Jun 07 2009, 12:00 am

I'm at my wit's end here.

I'm self employed and can't get onto any sort of group health insurance plan- I've always relied on my husband's group insurance. He lost his job and there went his health insurance--- so for about a year, we've been on COBRA--- for over $1700 a month. That's more than our rent!

He's looking for a position which offers health insurance but it doesn't seem likely. So he'd be happy to take any position- benefits or no benefits- except that even if we COULD continue paying $1700 a month for health insurance forever (not bloody likely).... COBRA is going to drop us after 18 months and we won't be able to get ANY coverage--- I've been calling around to private plans and even though they're less expensive than COBRA (EVERYTHING is less expensive than COBRA!), they won't take certain pre-existing conditions. All 4 of us have pre-existing conditions--- the one that seems to trip up the insurance companies is my husband's diabetes. So I MIGHT be able to find a plan that would cover me and the kids, but then what do I do about him?

How many of you just go without health insurance and hope not to be hospitalized? Is it totally irresponsible, if my husband can't find a group health insurance option to just buy private health insurance for me and the kids and "hope for the best" for him? Do any of you know of any private health insurance companies who will cover a diabetic? And finally--- if you're offering a job in Cleveland with health insurance as a benefit--- we're all ears! Smile

RachelEve14

Sun, Jun 07 2009, 2:05 am

If he has a preexisting condition he can't let his insurance lasp. If he's uncovered (I think even 1 day), the next policy will exclude the diabetes (even if it's a group policy through work). Have you looked into catastrophic coverage? Or only for him? Don't let him be without insurance. Or you can always come here and then your family will be covered Smile

amother

Mon, Jun 08 2009, 8:37 pm

even if we did qualify for state health coverage for the kids (though I think that's income based and we prob wouldn't qualify).... that wouldn't help us get my husband covered, would it?

Let's pretend all these state benefits don't exist and that we need to buy health insurance. what now?

Crayon210

Mon, Jun 08 2009, 8:47 pm

I'm not sure why you're pretending state benefits don't exist. Is there a specific reason? Scratching Head

First of all, it'll be cheaper than $1700 a month to cover your husband (most probably, even if he is diabetic), and second of all, he may qualify if you meet certain guidelines. I would think it's worth a phone call.

amother

Mon, Jun 08 2009, 8:52 pm

amother wrote:

even if we did qualify for state health coverage for the kids (though I think that's income based and we prob wouldn't qualify).... that wouldn't help us get my husband covered, would it?

I'm not sure that's true. DH has diabetes, and NY state covered him through the Healthy NY program and we had Oxford, which I think is the best in the Tri-state. We are in the process of applying for Family Health Plus and I know that they don't have such an exclusion.
Did I pick up that you live in Cleveland? If so, here's a link to some info that might be helpful to you. If your dh isn't employed and it's just your salary right now, you're probably eligible for medicaid (unless you have a lot of resources). Click on this link to the webpage for your state. If your income is too much, do some snooping on the site. Many states have subsidized programs now for insurance for couples/families.

amother

Mon, Jun 08 2009, 10:39 pm

crayon210, I'll call, but if we don't qualify we'll still be up a creek.

Medicaid amother--- I'll see if we qualify. So if our income is low enough, that would cover him? Medicaid would HAVE to take him? I hadn't thought we'd be able to qualify for any state benefit programs.

last amother--- wowwww.....I LOVE this, thank you....

HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is a federal law that may
give you the right to buy coverage. It prohibits insurance companies from refusing to cover
a health problem you already have (“pre-existing condition”).
To be eligible for these protections, you must have:
1. had at least 18 months of prior coverage, ending with coverage through a job;
2. used up any COBRA or state continuation coverage rights (see #1 and #2); and
3. had no gaps in coverage longer than 63 days, so you must act quickly.
If you qualify for HIPAA protection, in Ohio you have a right to purchase a standardized
individual health insurance policy. For more information, contact the Ohio Department of
Insurance at 1.800.686.1526.
Your Rights under Ohio Law
--------------------------------------------------------------

He's always been covered, and he'll be at the end of COBRA, and has no gaps in coverage, so there ARE insurance programs that HAVE to take him through this law--- I hadn't realized that. So even if we don't qualify for medicaid or the other low income stuff, we'd be ok under this law..... yay!