BritishGuy36

Ok so BCBS put up the missus' health insurance 25% this year on top of almost 20% last year.

I want to shop around but there doesn't seem to be anywhere that actually gives you a quote online, without you having to give them all your details down to your inside leg measurement only to find out that you won't see the quote and you have to allow an agent to phone and hassle you before you can actually get a figure.

Does anyone know a better way?

Current plan is an HSA with $5k deductible just to cover the big stuff should there be large bills.

SanDiegogirl

einsurance.com gives health insurance quotes on line, but be aware that these are starter rates and even if you are accepted they will go up after 6 months and then yearly afterwards.

Michael

Only if you can wait until 2014 and a republican doesn't get elected president in 2012. If all goes according to the health care reform, these types of nightmares should finally end in 2014.

BritishGuy36

I can only presume that was a joke .... but let's not turn this thread into a discussion on politics.

Anyone else any ideas on the original question?

Michael

By no means was it meant to be a joke. I went through that fiasco at one time and it definitely was not a joke. There is no way to determine what a health insurance company will charge you or whether they will even accept you until they offer you the insurance and that generally takes about 6 weeks.

The only reason I brought up 2014 is that when (if) the health care exchanges are implemented, there will only be three plans available so depending on the plan chosen, all insurance companies have to offer exactly the same deductible, co-pay, and coverage and must accept anyone at a price that is the same as anyone else in the same age group. Therefore that will be the first time ever that someone in the US will immediately be able to just compare prices between insurance companies since the government subsidizes preexisting conditions for all.

At one time, health insurance companies quoted prices on the internet but that seemed to have stopped several year ago. I suspect the government cracked down and put a stop to that practice with "truth in advertising" laws since very few people actually got the advertised price.

Currently it is nearly impossible to shop around for the best price. Generally when a insurance company finally offers you health coverage, you usually only have 30 days to accept. Since it takes about 6 weeks to get an offer from another insurance company, you may have passed up a better offer if you declined.

sir_eccles

Unfortunately he's deadly serious. A lot of the provisions of the healthcare reform are only due to start taking effect in 2014. Some of these provisions are there to make getting insurance easier.

Many Republican politicians have openly stated it their desire to repeal it.

fatbrit

PCIP.gov.

If she's over 40, there's a pre-existing condition in there somewhere -- just get it documented and you're good to go for the next couple of years.

Michael

She already has health insurance so I don't think that will work unless she stops her insurance for 6 months.

Michael

All republican presidential candidates have stated that. Although they won't be able to legally stop health care reform unless they have a super majority in the senate, there are other ways of virtually ending the program by not funding it.

SanDiegogirl

Didn't einsurance.com help you?

Michael

This was 10 years ago when everybody advertised their prices on the internet so I didn't use einsurance.com since insurance companies were already quoting me prices. However I had a minor issue with fatigue so Blue Cross finally denied me coverage 6 weeks later but offered me risk pool insurance at 5x their internet quoted price with drastically reduced coverage.

Since I have never used einsurance.com, maybe somehow they can give you a price without looking at medical records but I have my doubts.

SanDiegogirl

Whoops, sorry my posting was a response to British Guy's asking for additional information. Just wondered if he had tried einsurance yet. Apologies.

Nutmegger

Use a broker who specializes in HI -- you give him/her all the relevant info once, then he/she does the legwork with the companies and gives you options.

scrubbedexpat099

In my State all rates have to be filed with the State Insurance Commissioner.

Insurance in the US is a highly regulated industry.

GeoffM

My limited experiences so far for California (not in the US yet; won't qualify for group or company coverage). First company rejected us because we weren't resident yet. eHealthInsurance quoted for Blue Shield and - just as Michael said - took 6 weeks to reach a decision, which is approved. Except eHealth don't have the premium details and told me to phone Blue Shield. But I can't get through the automated menus on the phone because I don't have a BS member number or SSN.

However, I have had a quote through a trade association which is $560 for the four of us ($2.9k/$5.8k individual/family deductible; $4.9k/$9.8k max OOP; generic prescriptions only). It's not cheap but I wasn't expecting much less really. Just noticed that this is through Blue Shield as well.

But yeah - not quoted online at first point of contact!