I’m having a very disheartening experience trying to provide myself with health insurance coverage as a freelance employed worker. I’ve never had to cover myself before (and I don’t wish to put the burden on you, dear taxpayer, by not getting coverage) In my desire to provide a prospective new insurer with full disclosure about my health, the “great value” quote increased by $60 based on one disclosure, and they denied coverage completely on another disclosure. Neither one of these things is in any way a coverage-draining health issue for me (nor can they ever become- it’s just basic, non-serious health stuff), and it makes me really mad to think that some people just lie about this stuff and get to pay the “great value” price.
My question is: do all health insurers consider pre-existing conditions the same way? Do I have any chance of trying another health insurance company and getting a better rate and full coverage?
The carrier that denied me is UnitedHealthOne (which is actually Golden Rule Insurance Company), and I’m using ehealthinsurance.com to find coverage for myself.
Is there some independent person or company that can better help me navigate all this stuff?
I was declined because of pre-existing by every insurer in my state (Nevada). Like you, my condition is benign. I ended up leaving the USA and have been overseas for 8 years where I have great private insurance with no worries.
That being said, there are probably only two or three insurance comapanies in your state that offer individual health insurance, and they will either decline to cover you, or they will quote an absurdly high premium.
I second that, emphatically. I spent about six years doing freelance work, and I joined the local chamber of commerce ($40/year) so I could be part of their group health plan. Freelancers Union has no membership fees and offer other benefits that would probably be helpful.
It is essentially impossible to get health insurance in the US if you are not part of a group plan. The individual plans available are so expensive that you will always pay more than you can possibly receive in benefits.
If you have a pre-existing condition it will be tough, at least till the new reforms kick in.
Here’s your best two options.
One find a part time job with insurance. A lot of hotels and I think Starbucks still has it. You work a minimum amount of hours, like 20 or 24 and you get insurance.
Insurance through a job will usually cover you, or at worst make you wait a year for your pre-existing conditions.
An advantage is with a part time job you can offer to work the shifts like overnight or weekends, which the full timers don’t like anyway. When I was a Reservations / PBX manager I had two employees there working soley for the insurance, they both had sucsessful businesses of their own.
Then after you’ve been there the required time, you can quit and go on COBRA for 18 months. Or just keep the job.
The second option is to look at business associations. Some of these offer insurance to freelance members. Usually the pre-existing conditions will be covered after a year. It can be an association of the same type of workers, (such as all photographers) or local business associations, (such as all businesses in an area of the city).
Last check your county health dept. They usually have referrals. You will almost certainly pay something, because they are on a sliding fee scale. It’s highly unheard of not to charge something, even if it’s five or ten dollars.
Of course if your income is decent, the sliding fee doesn’t save much, if anything
Right now, in order for me to have affordable coverage, I will be totally bankrupted if anything major ever happens to me. I just don’t have the money for another kind of plan.
This is not at all true. I looked into all the various options (Freelancer’s Union, Chambers of Commerce, etc) when purchasing health insurance for Mr. Athena and I (both self-employed) and an individual plan ended up being the winner. And I can assure you, they are losing money on me at the moment, as I’ve developed a condition that is treatable but not especially cheap.
You still may want to check with them. Group insurance has different rules than individual, even when offered by the same company.
And, for the record, I have Golden Rule and apart from the price, I’m happy with it. They’ve covered stuff that I’ve heard horror stories from other people about their health insurance denying.
