i think i should look into getting insurance soon since i havent been covered for 8 years now.... any suggestions for a good company?.... i dont care about doctor visits/etc... just the major stuff...like broken bones/liagament surguries/ treatments/etc....
i'm fairly healthy but need a safety net to any thing major
If you are under 29 and in CA, NV, CO, or GA get Tonik.com. It is Blue Cross stripped down to 3 "affordable" plans. If you are over 29, you can piece together similar plans.
I got it coverage a little over a month before having an $80K accident dropping the damage down to under $5K. That is two years worth of deductables.
Tip: don't break leg before the New Year leading to two surgeries - one before and one after the New Year. Insurance companies like that.
i'm 30..... i blew out my left knee and needed surgury since my acl/menicus was shot..... i wlaked on it for 3 years because no insurance... but luckily the builder i was working for had a weathly client that paid for it and rehab..... but the knee still is jacked a bit....
i heard of a company called "cobra insurance".. i think they are high though...
i know a person at bcbs.... but i know there's better rated out there..
There is a website that compares insuance plans for individuals. You tailor the plans until you are left with the plans of the various companies ready to be purchase. I am sure the website gets a commission, but at least you can see the approximate prices of each plan and compare options. I'll try to google it...
AIA got a bill passed for allowing small companies to group together and purchase health insurance at rates available to larger companies. check their website. i'm not sure if they've started a program yet but if not it's probably in the works.
i had a new acl graphed from my patella ligament and my menicus sewn back together..... i had the operation about 2 years ago..... 2 big scars and about 25% feeling in my knee,... they had to cut through a major nerve also..wtf...... operation was at the U of M medical center in michigan and the head surgeon told me that my menicus tear was the worst he has seen ever.... he's the sport surgeon too....wtf..... i had to leave the construction field for a while because of bad knees........
Just the other night someone was telling me about a guy with a graph gone wrong on his knee. Supposedly the bone won't grow? Not sure how it works. So he has been on disability with an external brace. Ugh. I had one for 10 days. That was plenty for me.
i still wear a brace ... might have to get another for the knee i blew out in 92 (right knee)......
i get alot of knee spasms and sharp pains in my left knee...(operated one)..... sometimes it'll give out.....i try to stay active but really need to hit the gym and get on a daily workout.....
Find a policy with a high deductible. Open a medical IRA account. You can contribute up to your total deductible to your medical IRA account every year. The amount you contribute to your medical IRA is tax deductible - it comes right off your gross earnings. Anything in your medical IRA earns interest and grows. You are not taxed on withdrawls and you can take them when you need to pay your medical bills.
By doing this you (1) save on the insurance premium (2) put the premium savings into your medical IRA (3) earn interest on your premium savings which is not taxed (4) withdraw from your medical IRA anytime in your life and (5) get tax deductions for your medical IRA contributions. It's a complete win-win situation.
Talk to a good insurance broker before you fill out an application. Pre-existing conditions are weird and you want to be review your application with a broker before you submit it to an insurance company. Under no circumstances do you want to be someone who was "denied" coverage by a carrier so getting the application right is critical.
why would i want a high deductible? less monthly payments?.... i think that would be right....
i wonder if i can use that ira for other than medical...sort of like a bank account type.... just keep dumpin cash into it then transferring funds or use when needed...
YES - higher deductibles yield lower premiums. AND the best part is when you've got a higher deductible you get more involved in your health care and determine with your doctor, if you really need to do something or not. Once my doctors find out I've got a high deductible, they all work with me on savings measures.
You can only use your medical IRA and interest earned therein for medical expenses. You can't buy a hybrid, you can't upgrade your kitchen. If you take any deductions from it for expenses other than medical, you will suffer the same tax and penalty as you would with other IRAs.
Yes, keep dumping cash in it - taking the tax deductions each time you do - and withdraw when you need it.
It's a great product and the right direction to go with individuals and employers.
wow, chance, you just picked that one up where you left it a year and half ago. had you been thinking about your answer all that time or did it just come to you? truly impressive as two-thirds of your comments have come in this thread.
Watch out though, there are a lot of high deductible products that have low monthly premiums BUT also have a very low total lifetime benefit. Sooo, you might pay $62 a month to get insurance, have a $2500 or $5000 deductible, but also have a maximum lifetime benefit of $20,000. That could be less than a trip to the hospital for an appendectomy. You might want to work with an insurance broker that can decipher the fine print, especially if you have pre-existing conditions (like knee problems). In most cases, if you have been uninsured, the insurance fuckers won't cover these items. There is currently a class action lawsuit in CA against Blue Cross - one of the claimants was denied coverage because she went to a doctor for migraines, had a lapse in coverage and six years later was diagnosed with cancer.
blue cross from my experience is really the gold standard for coverage and ease of filing a claim, but also very expensive. i'm currently in a large hmo and think it's completely awful. i have to go through my primary care physician for all services. i have never met my primary care physician. he has five offices scattered throughout the region. if i need to go to urgent care, i have to go to an approved urgent care in my network; therefore i need to know exactly where to go when sick or hurt which is probably the last thing i will want to be thinking about.
"hmo," "health savings accounts," and "preventative maintenance" are code words for a health system being put forward by conservatives to save dough at the expense of the patient. it has a complete disregard for the realities of modern medical care, particularly amongst young people who are highly mobile. these ideas may work for a family living in a small town who plans on working for the same employer for the rest of one's life, i.e. not anyone i know. avoid hmos like the plague; ppos provide better services, but you will pay.
when i was self-employed, i actually went to a website like insurance dot com or something really general like that and was actually impressed with the range of quotes i got. i found a regional insurance agency that was fairly responsive to me both by phone and mail. i had a $2000 annual deductible which is very high, but complete coverage on all services up to $2 million. it cost me about $800/year. i used the insurance as a safety net in case something catastrophic happened, but didn't use it much for anything else. i'm young and healthy, but if i needed to go to a doctor for something minor, i would go to the local university's care clinic which was deeply discounted because i was an alumnus. i was also able to deduct the insurance from my taxes because i was self employed. that system worked well for me, but i think everyone needs to craft his or her own health plan based on one's employment circumstances and health.
i'm still screwing with assurant health and their coremed plan
i had insurance about 1.5 years ago... was paying 85 a month....
lost the insurance due to no cash/etc
well, i went to start the plan back up and had to get it underwrited again.... well since i have had surgury on 1 knee and wear a brace (i can operate without it..but wear it anyways)... theyadded 50% on my fee...wtf.... this was the same info i told them 1.5 years ago.... so now the premium is around $550 every 3 months... with a 3500 dedutible and 3 mill in coverage i believe.......
i'm still pissed about the whole higher rate of 50%..... i still havent told them yes or no...might look around.....
b
Feb 9, 08 2:30 pm ·
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self employed needs insurance...?
i think i should look into getting insurance soon since i havent been covered for 8 years now.... any suggestions for a good company?.... i dont care about doctor visits/etc... just the major stuff...like broken bones/liagament surguries/ treatments/etc....
i'm fairly healthy but need a safety net to any thing major
any suggestions
:
If you are under 29 and in CA, NV, CO, or GA get Tonik.com. It is Blue Cross stripped down to 3 "affordable" plans. If you are over 29, you can piece together similar plans.
I got it coverage a little over a month before having an $80K accident dropping the damage down to under $5K. That is two years worth of deductables.
Tip: don't break leg before the New Year leading to two surgeries - one before and one after the New Year. Insurance companies like that.
i'm 30..... i blew out my left knee and needed surgury since my acl/menicus was shot..... i wlaked on it for 3 years because no insurance... but luckily the builder i was working for had a weathly client that paid for it and rehab..... but the knee still is jacked a bit....
i heard of a company called "cobra insurance".. i think they are high though...
i know a person at bcbs.... but i know there's better rated out there..
:
There is a website that compares insuance plans for individuals. You tailor the plans until you are left with the plans of the various companies ready to be purchase. I am sure the website gets a commission, but at least you can see the approximate prices of each plan and compare options. I'll try to google it...
Oh of course:
eHealthInsurance
thanks alot
:
No problem.
Sorry to hear about that bum knee.
AIA got a bill passed for allowing small companies to group together and purchase health insurance at rates available to larger companies. check their website. i'm not sure if they've started a program yet but if not it's probably in the works.
i had a new acl graphed from my patella ligament and my menicus sewn back together..... i had the operation about 2 years ago..... 2 big scars and about 25% feeling in my knee,... they had to cut through a major nerve also..wtf...... operation was at the U of M medical center in michigan and the head surgeon told me that my menicus tear was the worst he has seen ever.... he's the sport surgeon too....wtf..... i had to leave the construction field for a while because of bad knees........
:
Ouch!
Just the other night someone was telling me about a guy with a graph gone wrong on his knee. Supposedly the bone won't grow? Not sure how it works. So he has been on disability with an external brace. Ugh. I had one for 10 days. That was plenty for me.
i still wear a brace ... might have to get another for the knee i blew out in 92 (right knee)......
i get alot of knee spasms and sharp pains in my left knee...(operated one)..... sometimes it'll give out.....i try to stay active but really need to hit the gym and get on a daily workout.....
:
Find a policy with a high deductible. Open a medical IRA account. You can contribute up to your total deductible to your medical IRA account every year. The amount you contribute to your medical IRA is tax deductible - it comes right off your gross earnings. Anything in your medical IRA earns interest and grows. You are not taxed on withdrawls and you can take them when you need to pay your medical bills.
By doing this you (1) save on the insurance premium (2) put the premium savings into your medical IRA (3) earn interest on your premium savings which is not taxed (4) withdraw from your medical IRA anytime in your life and (5) get tax deductions for your medical IRA contributions. It's a complete win-win situation.
Talk to a good insurance broker before you fill out an application. Pre-existing conditions are weird and you want to be review your application with a broker before you submit it to an insurance company. Under no circumstances do you want to be someone who was "denied" coverage by a carrier so getting the application right is critical.
Good luck!
why would i want a high deductible? less monthly payments?.... i think that would be right....
i wonder if i can use that ira for other than medical...sort of like a bank account type.... just keep dumpin cash into it then transferring funds or use when needed...
b
thanks
YES - higher deductibles yield lower premiums. AND the best part is when you've got a higher deductible you get more involved in your health care and determine with your doctor, if you really need to do something or not. Once my doctors find out I've got a high deductible, they all work with me on savings measures.
You can only use your medical IRA and interest earned therein for medical expenses. You can't buy a hybrid, you can't upgrade your kitchen. If you take any deductions from it for expenses other than medical, you will suffer the same tax and penalty as you would with other IRAs.
Yes, keep dumping cash in it - taking the tax deductions each time you do - and withdraw when you need it.
It's a great product and the right direction to go with individuals and employers.
http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa/
wow, chance, you just picked that one up where you left it a year and half ago. had you been thinking about your answer all that time or did it just come to you? truly impressive as two-thirds of your comments have come in this thread.
Watch out though, there are a lot of high deductible products that have low monthly premiums BUT also have a very low total lifetime benefit. Sooo, you might pay $62 a month to get insurance, have a $2500 or $5000 deductible, but also have a maximum lifetime benefit of $20,000. That could be less than a trip to the hospital for an appendectomy. You might want to work with an insurance broker that can decipher the fine print, especially if you have pre-existing conditions (like knee problems). In most cases, if you have been uninsured, the insurance fuckers won't cover these items. There is currently a class action lawsuit in CA against Blue Cross - one of the claimants was denied coverage because she went to a doctor for migraines, had a lapse in coverage and six years later was diagnosed with cancer.
blue cross from my experience is really the gold standard for coverage and ease of filing a claim, but also very expensive. i'm currently in a large hmo and think it's completely awful. i have to go through my primary care physician for all services. i have never met my primary care physician. he has five offices scattered throughout the region. if i need to go to urgent care, i have to go to an approved urgent care in my network; therefore i need to know exactly where to go when sick or hurt which is probably the last thing i will want to be thinking about.
"hmo," "health savings accounts," and "preventative maintenance" are code words for a health system being put forward by conservatives to save dough at the expense of the patient. it has a complete disregard for the realities of modern medical care, particularly amongst young people who are highly mobile. these ideas may work for a family living in a small town who plans on working for the same employer for the rest of one's life, i.e. not anyone i know. avoid hmos like the plague; ppos provide better services, but you will pay.
when i was self-employed, i actually went to a website like insurance dot com or something really general like that and was actually impressed with the range of quotes i got. i found a regional insurance agency that was fairly responsive to me both by phone and mail. i had a $2000 annual deductible which is very high, but complete coverage on all services up to $2 million. it cost me about $800/year. i used the insurance as a safety net in case something catastrophic happened, but didn't use it much for anything else. i'm young and healthy, but if i needed to go to a doctor for something minor, i would go to the local university's care clinic which was deeply discounted because i was an alumnus. i was also able to deduct the insurance from my taxes because i was self employed. that system worked well for me, but i think everyone needs to craft his or her own health plan based on one's employment circumstances and health.
i'm still screwing with assurant health and their coremed plan
i had insurance about 1.5 years ago... was paying 85 a month....
lost the insurance due to no cash/etc
well, i went to start the plan back up and had to get it underwrited again.... well since i have had surgury on 1 knee and wear a brace (i can operate without it..but wear it anyways)... theyadded 50% on my fee...wtf.... this was the same info i told them 1.5 years ago.... so now the premium is around $550 every 3 months... with a 3500 dedutible and 3 mill in coverage i believe.......
i'm still pissed about the whole higher rate of 50%..... i still havent told them yes or no...might look around.....
b
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