Medical Insurance Companies - California 60+
 

Hi there all,

Great forums. I've looked through a lot of posts on medical insurance but have not found anything particular to insurance for people 60+. My parents moved to California from UK recently and are scoping out the insurance situation. We know its all a scam - but does anyone know of a company that is in anyway less costly or has better coverage?

Thanks for any suggestions.
Rich

Re: Medical Insurance Companies - California 60+
 

ahh... the search for the holy grail... good luck

Re: Medical Insurance Companies - California 60+
 

I think they have to be here five years to qualify for Medicare, Check here I doubt there is a clear winner amongst the insurances. The problem is different depending on Medicare or no Medicare. Either way, a good place to start might be Blue Cross, but they should have someone with them to translate the jargon, the code words etc.
Without Medicare, it is a straightforward balance between cost and desired coverage.
With Medicare there are options. Google AARP, they have information, it might be a good idea for them to join AARP. Take a look at their medicare supplemental insurance options. There are other plans that encompass Medicare, see Blue Cross again for a start.

Re: Medical Insurance Companies - California 60+
 

I've heard that Kaiser can be cheaper than some other insurers in CA.

Re: Medical Insurance Companies - California 60+
 

Ouch...a lot depends on where you live and how healthy you are, but it's going to cost an arm and a leg no matter how healthy at that age.

AARP is a good place to start, but don't know if they can join without being at least LPR's....

Best bet, would be get a job, not at walmart though, but at some call centre type place to blag insurance.

Re: Medical Insurance Companies - California 60+
 

Hi,

I posted this elsewhere here originally and it was targeted to someone moving here with his family (30-40 somethings like my husband and me). But, the basics might help.

Visit ehealthinsurance.com if you need or want to look at plans in your area. This is an online quote system in which you enter you age and zipcode to get a list of all policies in your area. You can then filter on specific components. I used this for reseach and found the prices to be as on the provider websites. You will then want to check the fine print for detail on pre-existing condistions, etc. The rate will depend on your age and the desired cover you want.

A private plan can be as low as $100 a month or as high as $1000 for a married couple in their 30s. It all depends upon the type of cover you select. We paid $120 or so for a private plan for the two of us and now pay $140 or so with my husband’s group plan (a more inclusive plan than our private, which did not include maternity cover). We had Blue Cross and now have Aetna.

A few items to watch for:

Deductible: this is the amount you must pay for treatment before cover begins. You want this to be an amount you are comfortable with. We selected $1000 each as we rarely need medical help and felt comfortable paying that amount rather than a large monthly amount (you can generally go as low as $250 or as high as $5000+). This is a primary cost driver so watch this carefully.

Copay: generally 80/20. Once you reach your deductible the insurance pays 80% and you pay 20% up to your out of pocket maximum.

Out of pocket maximum: this is the max that you would have to pay before the insurance covers 100%. Again, chose an amount you are comfortable with (can be $1000-$12,000+)

Guaranteed cover: guaranteed policies can be kept forever although your premiums may rise. Optionally renewable allow the insurance company to stop cover but only on specified dates, such as your policy anniversary date. Conditionally renewable can be terminated for specific reasons (such as if you are in a group plan and retire) but cannot be terminated due to health reasons. Do check this carefully as many people have optionally renewable cover and find themselves dropped when struck with a serious health issue. Read the fine print!!!!

There are also health savings accounts with high-deductible plans, or flex-spending accounts with some employers in which you can deposit pre-tax money for health expenses, such as copayments, medicine costs, dental visits or checks not covered by your plan. The money can also be used for over-the-counter meds and supplies. For example, we deposit 200 a month in this as it is pre-tax. It is also a flex account that expires each year (we either use or lose the money.

We use this to cover copays, meds, etc. At the end of the year, we will schedule in any dental work, new contacts, etc if we have money left. Again, it’s pretax so we save income tax on this (and don’t get upset if we have a bit that goes unused, as it’s better than paying tax on it).

Do also find the local urgent care (walk in centre) or pharmacy centre (pharmacies such as CVS are opening walk-in centre). Your insurance may or may not cover this, but they are handy for non-emergency out of office needs. For example, my husband sprained his ankle playing footie and we could have gone to the ER and faced a bill in the thousands as we didn’t have insurance at the time. Instead we went to the walk-in, paid $49.

Some plans have prescription cover as a separate co-pay or level. However, some pharmacies are now charging as low as $4 for basic meds, and one of our grocery stores is now giving medicines for free (yes free). There are 300 meds on the list, and it's basic antibiotics and such. Worth familiarising yourself with your local pharmacies and the policy as the costs vary greatly.

If you join AAA (american automobile association, similar to AA) you save 15-30% on prescriptions at certain pharmacies, and save up to 30% on eyeglasses at certain providers. Both are handy if you don't have medicine or vision cover.

I guess the best advice I have is do your research and pay attention to the details so that you know exactly what to expect.

Hope that helps.

Re: Medical Insurance Companies - California 60+
 

AAA....that's a good idea, will help get a 10% discount on your car insurance too...

Re: Medical Insurance Companies - California 60+
 

:rolleyes:

how is it a scam? either pay the premium or don't, no-one is holding a gun to their heads.

Re: Medical Insurance Companies - California 60+
 

Ditto, Insurance is not compulsary.

Best bet is via an Employer.

This subject come up from time to time, does make me wonder how people expect to live in the US if you are an OAP unless you are:

a) Extremely wealthy

b) Extremely healthy (and lucky)

From memory you have to get Citizenship first and then pay to join Medicare.

Citizenship is say 5 1/2 years and who knows what the cover/cost will be for Medicare then.