Foo - Health Insurance for single guy!

I am a 24 year old male, non-smoker, exercise, no health issues that I am aware of and in search of health insurance. I have a problem with my shoulder dislocating and it hurts like H*LL when it dislocates. Last time, a few weeks ago, it happened in my sleep. Only the second time it has ever happened that way before. Paid a hefty bill too! My wisdom teeth are finally coming in and they are starting to also hurt very badly. I am moving from Tennessee to Chicago in June of 2008. What do you guys think my best option is for health insurance? If it is a company that I can get here, and also use in Chicago, great. If you have an opinion on a company that I can get here but not in Chicago let me know both. I want to know my options and kinda going nuts with all the companies in google and not knowing anything about any of them. The policy will be just for me and no one else on the policy. Thanks in advance guys.

read closely. Usually wisdom teeth are not covered until they become impacted/infected and you won't be able to do anything about the shoulder for at least a year because it's a pre-existing condition.

I have individual health insurance through Blue Cross Blue Shield. It's around $50 cheaper than what I would be paying if I were to use my company's plan. I pay $100 a month for a $2k annual deductible.

Get a part time job at Walmart.

Oh wait...

Getting a company plan is the only way to avoid the pre existing conditons hassle? You are under 35, costs should be reasonable. Of course, look out for the small print. The exclusions provisions. Often the only way to avoid the cost of the exclusions provisions on most private plans is suicide.

I am a 24 year old male, non-smoker, exercise, no health issues that I am aware of and in search of health insurance. I have a problem with my shoulder dislocating and it hurts like H*LL when it dislocates. Last time, a few weeks ago, it happened in my sleep. Only the second time it has ever happened that way before. Paid a hefty bill too! My wisdom teeth are finally coming in and they are starting to also hurt very badly. I am moving from Tennessee to Chicago in June of 2008. What do you guys think my best option is for health insurance? If it is a company that I can get here, and also use in Chicago, great. If you have an opinion on a company that I can get here but not in Chicago let me know both. I want to know my options and kinda going nuts with all the companies in google and not knowing anything about any of them. The policy will be just for me and no one else on the policy. Thanks in advance guys.

Health insurance is a bad deal. It's better to just take your chances and pay as you go. BTW, you're 24 and should be at the peak of health. You don't need insurance.

I hate to say it but look at taking a trip to Canada or the EU if you can't get insurance through your employer. I have individual insurance and after I broke my neck and had to have spinal surgery my premium jumped to almost $500 a month from about $150. It's now my largest monthly expense.

Health insurance is a bad deal. It's better to just take your chances and pay as you go. BTW, you're 24 and should be at the peak of health. You don't need insurance.

Wrong. My neck ended up costing well over $100,000.00. I would not have been able to come up with it, and would now be left an invalid.

Health insurance is a bad deal. It's better to just take your chances and pay as you go. BTW, you're 24 and should be at the peak of health. You don't need insurance.

austro. My bike related shoulder surgery ended up costing over $ 20K.
For a 45 minute rote cuff repair in an outpatient surgery center./ Paid for thanks to my employers policy. Accidents do happen. Tho, I do agree, private insurance is a scam. And my insurance policy had very strict limits on post surgery therapy. Prepare to do your physical therapy all on your own.

Health insurance is a bad deal. It's better to just take your chances and pay as you go. BTW, you're 24 and should be at the peak of health. You don't need insurance.

wow...

I always suspected you folks from Ames were a little...slow.

wow...

I always suspected you folks from Ames were a little...slow.

So how much money do you suppose I've saved over 20 years of not buying insurance? $5000 per year? $6000 per year? Take that times 20 and add in some interest and I've probably saved $300,000.

Do you have that $300,000.00 in an account to be used for medical expenses? If not, tread lightly.

wtf. my policy is now costing my employer 901 dollars a month. Praise be to strong unions, or we'd be uninsured .

wtf. my policy is now costing my employer 901 dollars a month. Praise be to strong unions, or we'd be uninsured .

Good employers would offer the $901 monthly cash to their employees. That's almost $11,000 per year. I'll take the cash and take my chances.

To each his own...i wish you the best of health.

Good employers would offer the $901 monthly cash to their employees. That's almost $11,000 per year. I'll take the cash and take my chances.

If say - WalMart could be some how stuck with that tab on me as a semi- retired employee who did an early retirement , who had gone on to something else- they'd probably take out a hit man on me. ? what do ya think? Especialy if they had one of those health insurance policies naming themselves as beneficaries.

So how much money do you suppose I've saved over 20 years of not buying insurance? $5000 per year? $6000 per year? Take that times 20 and add in some interest and I've probably saved $300,000.

YOu are talking about self insuring. NOt a bad plan if you are a millionaire. The part you are right about is that you will "take your chance." Without health insurance, every minute of your life you are at risk for major financial disaster.


It's totally a stupid plan but nobody says it couldn't work.

It's totally a stupid plan but nobody says it couldn't work.

If i'm not in school next year, and without a real job, i'm likely not going to have health insurance. I'll have serious reservations about riding a bicycle at 40mph...

Health insurance is a bad deal. It's better to just take your chances and pay as you go. BTW, you're 24 and should be at the peak of health. You don't need insurance.
Fail.

I am 24, and I would be living on the street half way into a coma without my health insurance.

A "simple" problem like hypothyroidism will cost you $600ish minimum a year for the rest of your life for a yearly visit and bloodwork, not including medication (between $12 and $40 a month). The first year with bloodwork every 8 weeks until you find the right dose would be several thousand.

Try having a rare and poorly understood health problem without insurance. My medical bills would probably be twice my take home pay for the last two years.

Again, I am 24 and would probably be very close to dead right now without my health insuranace. Instead, I am going to see a specialist in NY in a week and a half, and in a year may be much closer to normal than any of my current doctors think is possible. I have also been able to continue grad school through this with the help of my doctors and disability services. Something that would have been impossible without aggressive medical treatment.

Being self-employed, I might just get that part time job at Walmart or Target just so I can drop my $700/month HMO premium.

Good employers would offer the $901 monthly cash to their employees. That's almost $11,000 per year. I'll take the cash and take my chances.
My employer pays over a grand a month for me. What a rip. Far more goes into insurance than into anything else. And the bonus is that it's totally worthless if I leave my job for any reason (I may want to retire someday)

The purpose of insurance should be to protect against catastrophic loss. However, we have a Cadillac plan that has practically no deductible and the costs are insane because they cover all this nickel and dime stuff. If I could have used my health benefits to purchase a plan that made any sense (i.e. high deductible) and bank the rest, I'd be in fabulous shape now.

If the lower paid workers where I am could just take the cash and do what they will, some would get a 50% increase in salary. If they were offered such a raise with an opportunity to buy their health insurance, I suspect few would take the deal even though it would be financially equivalent to what they have now.

Health insurance is a bad deal. It's better to just take your chances and pay as you go. BTW, you're 24 and should be at the peak of health. You don't need insurance.

Yes, all you need is the internet and for anything serious or an accident, walk it off.

If the lower paid workers where I am could just take the cash and do what they will, some would get a 50% increase in salary. If they were offered such a raise with an opportunity to buy their health insurance, I suspect few would take the deal even though it would be financially equivalent to what they have now.

That's so smart, because everyone can predict exactly when they will get sick or in an accident, better to have the cash now for a slightly shinier car or bigger TV.

Fail.

I am 24, and I would be living on the street half way into a coma without my health insurance.

A "simple" problem like hypothyroidism will cost you $600ish minimum a year for the rest of your life for a yearly visit and bloodwork, not including medication (between $12 and $40 a month). The first year with bloodwork every 8 weeks until you find the right dose would be several thousand.

Try having a rare and poorly understood health problem without insurance. My medical bills would probably be twice my take home pay for the last two years.

Again, I am 24 and would probably be very close to dead right now without my health insuranace. Instead, I am going to see a specialist in NY in a week and a half, and in a year may be much closer to normal than any of my current doctors think is possible. I have also been able to continue grad school through this with the help of my doctors and disability services. Something that would have been impossible without aggressive medical treatment.

I'm sorry about your condition Lauren. No offense, but if I paid for insurance I would be paying for your problems. Healthcare is not an easy issue. Who are you voting for next year? (just curious since you are in liberal whinerville, NC)

Yes, all you need is the internet and for anything serious or an accident, walk it off.

I think you should get insurance. You sound very risk averse. Now go inside and play with your sister.

I'm sorry about your condition Lauren. No offense, but if I paid for insurance I would be paying for your problems. Healthcare is not an easy issue. Who are you voting for next year? (just curious since you are in liberal whinerville, NC)

Wow. I seriously hope you get a massive ass tumor next week and bankrupt everyone in your life before you die of lack of care.

Healthcare is an easy issue, you either decide to live in a society with others, or live in cave, tax-free.

Wow. I seriously hope you get a massive ass tumor next week and bankrupt everyone in your life before you die of lack of care.

I hope you are ass-tumor free for the rest of your days. :beer:


Healthcare is an easy issue, you either decide to live in a society with others, or live in cave, tax-free.

You like simple answers, eh Doc? "You're either with us or against us" type answers?

That's so smart, because everyone can predict exactly when they will get sick or in an accident, better to have the cash now for a slightly shinier car or bigger TV.
The point is that people don't even think about the costs when they should. The union fights tooth and nail for this coverage and it has strong support by the employees because they think of it as free. They do not think in terms of "this is costing me more than $12K a year, I can't leave my job without losing my coverage, and I still have to fight to get insurance to pay a lot of the time".

If you ask people around here, they will tell you they can't afford a $10 copay on prescriptions. If their coverage weren't over $1000/mo, maybe they would be able to. Besides, there are all kinds of costs that people expect to cover (e.g. car and house maintenance or their annual TV bill for that matter) without insurance coverage. If you have a higher deductible but cover the serious stuff, you are still covered against catastrophic loss (the really important thing), but the service costs less to provide.

Some people treat our health system like an all you can eat buffet. When there is no disincentive to waste, some people go out of their way to get everything they can. Just as some people will gorge themselves at a buffet even though they're not hungry, some people will pressure docs to give them prescriptions and treatments they don't need. This is why medical ads work so well. This contributes to very high costs for everyone.

If you ask people around here, they will tell you they can't afford a $10 copay on prescriptions. If their coverage weren't over $1000/mo, maybe they would be able to

How much would that prescription be if they had no coverage?

How much would that prescription be if they had no coverage?
Obviously, this depends on the prescription. However, I think it's useful to distinguish between a payment plan and insurance.

The purpose of insurance is to help people protect their assets/lifestyle in case of catastrophic loss. The purpose of a payment plan is administrative convenience rather than to pool risk. When you hire a company to pay for small expenses so you can send one big check, you have selected a payment plan.

Note that you can rack up very hefty dental, optical, and mental care expenses that you'll be covering out of pocket. However, since those aren't considered "medical" expenses, people don't expect/demand the same coverage they do for the other stuff.

I'm sorry about your condition Lauren. No offense, but if I paid for insurance I would be paying for your problems. Healthcare is not an easy issue. Who are you voting for next year? (just curious since you are in liberal whinerville, NC)

So when you get into an accident and need an ambulance, emergency care, etc. and have no insurance to cover it, do you have the money saved up to pay the 5 (maybe 6) figure bill out of pocket or will you be like the rest of the uninsured leeches and force the hospital to cover it on their insurance?
Aside from the pharmaco-biz driving up costs, uninsured emergency coverage is one of big reasons for rising healthcare costs.

So when you get into an accident and need an ambulance, emergency care, etc. and have no insurance to cover it, do you have the money saved up to pay the 5 (maybe 6) figure bill out of pocket

Yes I do.


...or will you be like the rest of the uninsured leeches and force the hospital to cover it on their insurance?
Aside from the pharmaco-biz driving up costs, uninsured emergency coverage is one of big reasons for rising healthcare costs.

Leeches? Bloodletting and leeches went out with the middle-ages.

Leeches? Bloodletting and leeches went out with the middle-ages.

Leeches are still commonly used in medical practice to combat blood pooling around traumatized tissue. (I'm not talking about some hack 'n' slack back-alley doc, either. There are a few supply companies which sell leeches for hospital use.)

I'm sorry about your condition Lauren. No offense, but if I paid for insurance I would be paying for your problems. Healthcare is not an easy issue. Who are you voting for next year? (just curious since you are in liberal whinerville, NC)

Sure not hillarycare if that's what you are asking! If health care is bad now, she'd just make it worse.

I'm glad my insurance won't be paying your $150k cancer/bypass/liver transplant bill. Insurance negotiates down the cost of care, so what my bills have cost my insurance I'll easily end up paying back since I'll be able to work. If I didn't have insurance I'd be living off the gov. right now because I'd be disabled. And sadly my taxes will continue to pay for leeches like you who end up disabled because they were too cheap to get health insurance when they could afford it.

If you ask people around here, they will tell you they can't afford a $10 copay on prescriptions.
They CAN afford it, they just don't want to pay it.

I'll bring my lunch to work and have a roommate so I can afford whatever co-pays I need. You don't need cable TV more than medications, but some people would rather waste their life watching cable than get better.

This is why I don't like free health care. If you aren't willing to go from deluxe to basic cable to afford a few $10 co-pays then you obviously aren't sick to begin with.

Getting a company plan is the only way to avoid the pre existing conditons hassle? You are under 35, costs should be reasonable. Of course, look out for the small print. The exclusions provisions. Often the only way to avoid the cost of the exclusions provisions on most private plans is suicide.

+1 If you're in a company plan, they have to keep you or drop everyone if you use your coverage. If you're the only one in your plan and you cost them too much, they'll drop you and make it harder for you to buy additional coverage.

Thanks for the great thread guys. Always makes me happy.

/shocked it isn't in p&r yet.

YOu are talking about self insuring. NOt a bad plan if you are a millionaire. The part you are right about is that you will "take your chance." Without health insurance, every minute of your life you are at risk for major financial disaster.


It's totally a stupid plan but nobody says it couldn't work.

don't be so sure you are without the chance of financial disaster with health insurance either. Read the fine print and in particular their cancelation policies.

Being self-employed, I might just get that part time job at Walmart or Target just so I can drop my $700/month HMO premium.

Part time job at walmart. Last I knew they don't cover their associates, even if they are full time. You will google a Walmart announcement, Walmart recently called for a National Health care plan. Might get them and their employees off the hook. Strange bedfellows. WalMart called for such a plan in conjunction with the Service Workers Union, which Wal Mart does their best to keep them outside the entry door.

Hey. I am Canadian and I always enjoy Americans ranting about healthcare costs.
Can anyone tell me about what happens when you loose your job, or are retired? Do your private plans still cover you when you are 82 and need hip replacements?
I travelled in the US this September and had two women ask me if Canada would cover this.

Hey. I am Canadian and I always enjoy Americans ranting about healthcare costs.
Can anyone tell me about what happens when you loose your job, or are retired? Do your private plans still cover you when you are 82 and need hip replacements?
I travelled in the US this September and had two women ask me if Canada would cover this.

Its really not worth it. The ones who do believe, want it, the ones who don't believe they will never need it.

We live in France most of the year. Its not just the cost of the coverage, an issue is the quality of care. In the US , a chance to vent with your doctor for 20-30 minutes with no sense he/she is trying to push you out the door. The doctors were really impressive. Equiptment just as good as US equiptment and the cost even for those foreigners maybe without insurance; about the same cost as what Americans normally pay on their deductables. Polling shows the French love their medical system. From what we see, it's well deserved.

I'm glad my insurance won't be paying your $150k cancer/bypass/liver transplant bill. Insurance negotiates down the cost of care, so what my bills have cost my insurance I'll easily end up paying back since I'll be able to work. If I didn't have insurance I'd be living off the gov. right now because I'd be disabled. And sadly my taxes will continue to pay for leeches like you who end up disabled because they were too cheap to get health insurance when they could afford it.

I'm a leech because I choose not to join the insurance scam? So you are against freedom of choice? You sound like a socialist. I think you need to take "liberal" out of your sig line because you really don't know what you are talking about. Why do you insist that everybody pays and everybody plays? What about someone who pays for insurance but doesn't go to the gym seven days a week like I do? Is this person a leech for not doing their best to avoid health problems?

I'm a leech because I choose not to join the insurance scam? So you are against freedom of choice? You sound like a socialist. I think you need to take "liberal" out of your sig line because you really don't know what you are talking about. Why do you insist that everybody pays and everybody plays? What about someone who pays for insurance but doesn't go to the gym seven days a week like I do? Is this person a leech for not doing their best to avoid health problems?

And what happens when you fall over mid-workout from an aortic aneurysm? You get taken to the ER, have emergency surgery and surprise, you can't afford it! The hospital has to eat the cost, and I end up paying for it because they increase their fees to make up for deadbeats like you.

Or what about when your exercise catches up with you and you need a knee replacement, but can't afford it? You get by with braces and pain meds for a while, then can barely walk and lose your job. So you apply for disability and leech off of my taxes.

I'm a leech because I choose not to join the insurance scam? So you are against freedom of choice? You sound like a socialist. I think you need to take "liberal" out of your sig line because you really don't know what you are talking about. Why do you insist that everybody pays and everybody plays? What about someone who pays for insurance but doesn't go to the gym seven days a week like I do? Is this person a leech for not doing their best to avoid health problems?

hey austropithicus, die in a fire already

I'm a leech because I choose not to join the insurance scam? So you are against freedom of choice? You sound like a socialist. I think you need to take "liberal" out of your sig line because you really don't know what you are talking about. Why do you insist that everybody pays and everybody plays? What about someone who pays for insurance but doesn't go to the gym seven days a week like I do? Is this person a leech for not doing their best to avoid health problems?

Congratulations on not being scammed, Austro. Hope it all works out well for you in the end. We know sometime we will all get sick. We have had others pay our insurance for us, and we still feel scammed. Actually , that employer is the one being scammed. You ever need medical needs come to Europe and pay it for out of pocket there. You will save about 75%. Might save you from bankruptacy.Why not , I have read our insurance masters have considered sending us to Taiwan for medical treatments as a cost saving measure. So why can't we do such as individuals, should we be without medical coverage. Just bring your plastic. Sorry. Nothing is free.

a story of how American insurance works. . Why be scammed.
read the fine print ' Last MRI my wife had at a Calif hospital was 1200 dollars. then they sent the negatives to India and took a week to process. They had to redevelop from the negatives a second time. Delaying the MRI. The insurance company insisted we pay for their mistake. Another 400 dollars out of our pocket. . In France a MRI developed within one hour of the scan cost less than 200 euros. would you believe ambulance services are provided at no cost, a service of the hospital.Should you live way out and need fast ambulance service you will need a private ambulance, but price wise, they are the equivilant of a taxi ride /

***
What really got me was that her treatment was preapproved - Coventry Insurance Co.

She went in at six in the morning and was back home by three. Total bill was $49,000. The bill for the MRI was $6,000. One doctor received $107. One doctor got $1,000. I guess the rest was just from the hospital.

I think the hospital will just write off most of their bill. But none of this makes any sense at all.

$6,000 for an MRI?

Course it costs me $100 just to go into the clinic and get my blood pressure checked and get a prescription. I don't have insurance. Probably the bill to an insurance company would be half what I pay.

They always say you should have all of these prevntative tests. But the tests are so expensive no one can afford them. I think a mammogram is $175. I can feed myself for over a month for that.

And what happens when you fall over mid-workout from an aortic aneurysm? You get taken to the ER, have emergency surgery and surprise, you can't afford it! The hospital has to eat the cost, and I end up paying for it because they increase their fees to make up for deadbeats like you.

Or what about when your exercise catches up with you and you need a knee replacement, but can't afford it? You get by with braces and pain meds for a while, then can barely walk and lose your job. So you apply for disability and leech off of my taxes.

See post #32, above. Apparently he's got the funds stashed to cover a 6 figure medical emergency. That's why I backed off that point. If he's actually prepared, then he's certainly in the minority of uninsured individuals.

I can understand your concerns with long-term disability care without insurance, though. My fiancee was in a car accident 10 years ago and still goes to PT every week to keep up her mobility; and without her daily meds, there would be no chance of her being as productive as she is. Her insurance covers both her PT and her medication at 100%. Without that, it would cost over $1000/month.

And what happens when you fall over mid-workout from an aortic aneurysm? You get taken to the ER, have emergency surgery and surprise, you can't afford it! The hospital has to eat the cost, and I end up paying for it because they increase their fees to make up for deadbeats like you.

Or what about when your exercise catches up with you and you need a knee replacement, but can't afford it? You get by with braces and pain meds for a while, then can barely walk and lose your job. So you apply for disability and leech off of my taxes.

Just to set the record straight: When my body is used up, I'm not hanging around for someone to take care of me. I will not retire and use YOUR social security money. At age 65 I'm taking route 357 because there is nothing more pathetic than retired geezers who complain about the siutation they are in.

I wish you would quit calling me names. I pay all of my bills and I pay a lot more in taxes than the average american.

Ah, but the emergency is just the beginning. Then you have to have follow up, medications, etc. And long term health problems are a very real concern. I have one of the cheaper ones (thyroid problems) but most could send anyone into bankruptcy quickly, especially chronic lyme. Just finding a doctor to diagnose it can be a chore, and then the IV antibiotics, ugh, I'm so glad I have insurance.

Trust me, he's full of BS. Anyone that could afford an organ transplant would be smart enough to realize that $500 a month was a small price to pay in order to protect their assets.