Healthcare Marketplace

warrrior3

Anyone have success applying for individual insurance through the government? After 4wks of hearing about technical problems I have anappointment in 2 days at our local hospital to meet with a rep to help w application.

jdash

tried several times. I guess I will have to make an appt with a rep too

wyo

my 2 cents

Please Please Please get specific information about what type of prescription drug benefit is available with each of the plans- while one of the "metal" plans may have lower monthly premiums, the deductable can be high and some drugs are not covered or have very large co-pays. Depending on your prescriptions a higher premium plan may actually save you money over time on medication costs.

warmsmartcookie

You don't have to buy through healthcare.gov. For all the PPO variety you need, go to http://www.ehealthinsurance.com and you can sign up for any 2014 insurance plan available in your state regardless of preexisting conditions. Pick a PPO that has your docs in the network. On the left hand navigation you can sort by deductible, coinsurance, premiums, etc. You'll need to review every plans summary of benefits to know how it will affect your price/selection for hospitals, doctors, etc. Don't sign anything without seeing the detailed summary of benefits from the broker.

You really have to think through where the financial risk is -- I put my priority on no coinsurance for hospitalization, specialists, and the ER, as well as a low deductible. You can also opt to buy insurance to cover you just for cancer as a separate benefit. ehealthinsurance.com calls it Critical Illness Insurance. A Critical Illness Plan pays you directly in the event that you are diagnosed with a covered critical illness.

If you need a subsidy, do the paper version of the application on healthcare.gov, make a copy of it and the envelope, and send it in certified to the address on the form. That is the fastest and easiest way to get your subsidy. Shop on healthcare.gov but you can find more details on the individual plans at the company website, eg, Blue Cross Blue Shield. And if the subsidy offset isn't worth the sacrifice in your doctor choice (only you will know the answer to that), then you may want to opt for private individual insurance so you can pick from more options.