bilou1415

I am moving to Florida in the next few months and obviously understand that I am going to need health insurance, problem is that there are so many out there I am a bit confused as to which one to choose.
Can anyone recommend the main companies and polices or offer any advice on this subject?

Also, similar problem with life insurance - any information would be greatly appreciated!

Bob

Search through the forums...

most get it through work as it gets subsidised...it'll be well expensive otherwise...things to look out for are co-pays, deductibles and what's covered...might be worth getting eyeball and dental cover too...

If you have any pre-existing conditions, it'll make it worse and those conditions might not be covered for x amount of time.

Ray

A lot will depend on the visa your on ...
and if you have an employer that will provide any medical cover
Blue Cross/Blue shield is deemed not too bad
Life insurance no problem as long as you are young fit and healthy ...

Brync

What you can do initially is get a general cover with medical insurers that doesn't require a medical. The maximum period they will cover you for in this way is six months. This gives you time to shop around when you get here or even to find a job that provides medical cover. I'm 49 and got 6 months full coverage with Blue Cross and Blue Shield for $500.00. It doesn't cover any pre existing conditions you have had in the past two years and if you do make a claim during the initial six months it will then count as a pre-existing condition when you apply for full cover. At least in this way you have medical cover from day one should you be involved in an accident etc.

bilou1415

Thanks for the info, does anyone know if I can take the cover out with Blue Cross Blue Shield before leaving the UK?

Ray

Unlikely, you most probably will need your SSN first ....
http://www.bcbsfl.com/

BritGuyTN

check out this site

www.ehealthinsurance.com

where it says deductible, that is how much you pay out of pocket every year before insurance kicks in

so in my area (TN) a blue cross blue shit plan costing $90 a month means I have to come up with the first $5000 every year before they start paying

a $500 decutible plan is $191 with a 20% co-insurance

so if you go for this plan and need a $4000 operation (like I did when I broke my ankle last year) the cost to you will be

$4000 - $500 = $3500 balance

20% coinsurance on the $3500 = $700 you have to pay on the rest

$700 co-insurance + $500 dedcutible = $1,200 you cost of the treatment

so basically if you have the insurance for the whole year ($2,300 of premiums) + $1,200, this means that of the total cost of the $4000 treatment, you are actually paying $3,500

The system here is crap, quite frankly, my wife is a state-employed attorney and one of the few things good about her renumeration is the health insurance is execellent - the aforementioned operation I had and followup treatment cost me about $125 in copays total. (as opposed to the $3500 in the example above if I had the blue cross blue shit plan)

scrubbedexpat099

Full cover?

You might want to check the small print.

$90 a month is too cheeep for "full" cover.

Life Insurance costs have come down, we are all living longer, depends exactly what you need.

penguinsix

It's probably an 'emergency only' policy that covers accidents but not preventive care and scheduled care. Those kind of policies are often given to visitors and the like, and they aren't very expensive (because they don't cover much).

Brync

It is full cover except for prior conditions..I forgot to mention though that i have to pay the first $500.00 of any claim....

Dan725

I am in a similiar boat to you, with wife working for big Fortune 500 company and therefore getting the top family health plans. Very lucky to have that, her entire pregnancy checkups and delivery cost us no more than about $300 to $350 in co-pays.

I did a bit of research on health plans because I was and am thinking about being self employed and wife not working. If we didn't have that insurance, I would be tempted to go with a high deductible plan (After reviewing them, for us $3500 seemed to be the best cost-benefit point for the family), but one that pays 100% after the deductible. We could stand $3500 a year if needs be, but it is nice to know that you will be in the clear should a major disaster happen. This 80/20 after deductible nonsense worries me - if you have a major disaster or need repeated specialist treatments, 20% of, say a million dollars would still be enough to bankrupt most people.

Dan725

A similar idea to BryanC, I wonder if you best bet wouldn't be to take out a decent travel insurance policy before leaving the UK. It should cover you for the initial month or two; once you get your SSN, Green card and whatever, you can then switch over.

Elvira

No!!! Travel insurance is for temporary travel on a visitor's visa or VWP.

Whilst one might be able to get away with a minor claim, I'm sure they would look very thoroughly into a major claim. In any event, the policy holder would only receive emergency treatment and would be expected to return to the UK as soon as he/she was sufficiently stable to travel.

kel.n.issy

We use company for our medical and although I hate pying it every month it would be worth it should there ever be anything serious.

We have just got quotes for life insurance and they compare about the same as the uk although they wont let us apply without having GC so we have kept our uk one on for know and pay out of a uk bank account, (they allow this) and i will swap when gc comes through.

Ray

My wife is an insurance agent in Florida ....
Has sold life insurance to E-2 people and no GC needed...
other States may vary of course .......