This Just Can't Be True

fjimp · Post by **fjimp** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 9:13 pm

beeg wrote:Sorry but I didn't find that feature. Do ya have to be a member first?

No you do not need to be a member. This feature is designed to allow consumers to locate a member agent. You do not need to register or sign in. On the first page of the site on the right hand side just below the top is a brown box with the heading "Find and Agent. I hope this helps. Incidentally some people refuse to use agents because they feel it increases the cost of insurance. The truth of the matter is that in most situations the price of coverage is identical regardless whether one uses an agent or not. Fjimp

beeg · Post by **beeg** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 10:41 pm

OOOPPPSSSS seems as NoScript prevented me from seeing it the first time. Thank You for the info. Now maybe I won't have to pay 65% of my reduced SS.

cincinnati · Post by **cincinnati** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 11:35 pm

fjimp wrote:Depending on State of occupancy the portability laws related to the actual completion of Cobra benefits allow a one time guarantee issue of individual coverage. The costs can be prohibitive and replacement coverage must be obtained within 63 days of the end of COBRA benefits. What varies is the vehicle that is available. In some states it would be an individual plan in others a state pool will be the vehicle. This has been the law for several years. How it will change under the new mess of a law I am still uncertain. Fjimp

Insurance is available if you have been denied but only after 6 months. 6 months is a long time to be uninsured if you have a serious illness.
Under Obama care law you can not be denied under a group plan. But that does not help if you are still unemployed. For individual plans it does not kick in till 2014. Many people were under the impression, if you got a job, insurance was a given. But many were starting to be denied at their new company because of an illness.

I am very healthy. But because I took a blood pressure pill for 2 weeks when I first lost my job, insurance was kinda waffling on insuring me or not. In the end I did get coverage what I feel is a very good price.

Like I said before. Right now you can work and pay for health insurance for 30 years. Your company decides to close down and you lose your job. If you have an illness you may have to go 6 months without insurance. You could rack up the price of a house in medical bills in that time.

paulmcohen · Post by **paulmcohen** » Sun Sep 25, 2011 2:05 am

cincinnati wrote: I have been insured all my life. I worked my job for 25 years and paid my insurance like one should. One day company was shut down and we lost our insurance the day we walked out. I was on COBRA but that has just ran out. Some people I worked with has preexisting health issues and can't buy insurance for any price.

The majority of state have laws that says if you accept COBRA, and it runs out and you apply for other insurance (before your COBRA ran out) and are turned down the COBRA company must continue to offer you coverage but you pay with no employer contribution. The cost of this is higher than what you would pay if you are a20 year old non-smoker in perfect health but generally very reasonable for a 50 year old with 2 or 3 chronic conditions.

This policy is also true with large COBRA providers like Blue Cross.

The problem is this little detail in not widely published so a lot of people just assume they can't get coverage and don't follow the steps necessary to guarantee coverage. I know this works for Oregon, Washington and California because I and others I know have used it. Also many states have insurance pools for people who get turned down for insurance.

Aother option is many MLM companies (think Amway, Creative Memories, or YTB) offer guaranteed acceptance insurance for their owners with typical cost to join an MLM of <$300 and monthly fees of <$50 this is easily made up with the insurance savings. I know for sure YTB does you would have to check the one you are interested in to see what they offer.

Lastly many professional organizations offer group insurance for members and again fees to join are typically a few $100 - $500 annually with no monthly fees.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sun Sep 25, 2011 8:41 am

paulmcohen wrote:The majority of state have laws that says if you accept COBRA, and it runs out and you apply for other insurance (before your COBRA ran out) and are turned down the COBRA company must continue to offer you coverage but you pay with no employer contribution. The cost of this is higher than what you would pay if you are a20 year old non-smoker in perfect health but generally very reasonable for a 50 year old with 2 or 3 chronic conditions.

This policy is also true with large COBRA providers like Blue Cross.

The problem is this little detail in not widely published so a lot of people just assume they can't get coverage and don't follow the steps necessary to guarantee coverage. I know this works for Oregon, Washington and California because I and others I know have used it. Also many states have insurance pools for people who get turned down for insurance.

Aother option is many MLM companies (think Amway, Creative Memories, or YTB) offer guaranteed acceptance insurance for their owners with typical cost to join an MLM of <$300 and monthly fees of <$50 this is easily made up with the insurance savings. I know for sure YTB does you would have to check the one you are interested in to see what they offer.

Lastly many professional organizations offer group insurance for members and again fees to join are typically a few $100 - $500 annually with no monthly fees.

I am just not sure you have got this scoped out correctly, Paul. If you did, medical coverage and the Obama Plan would not be such a "hot button".

Yes, there are companies out there that will take you in with a pre-existing conditions but the premiums are set accordingly high. Even without pre-existing conditions, if you are applying for coverage and are older the premiums will be higher. The insurance companies have us all by the short hair and they know it. The insurance companies are there to make money and they are very successful at doing so.

You may be fortunate enough to have been insured all of your life. There are many who have not been so fortunate or who have suddenly lost that coverage. When those folks apply for insurance, they find out how costly it can be and how restrictive existing group plans can be. The folks most seriously impacted are not people who are eligible to join groups like MLM; it is those who come unaffiliated.

If you have not had the experience yourself, believe me, it is a lot different than what is advertised in the commercials and in the political sound bytes.

It is no wonder that many of us just show up in the emergency rooms looking for medical treatment that they cannot otherwise afford. Those of us who are fortunate enough to have insured all of our lives need to be humbly thankful for that blessing.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sun Sep 25, 2011 10:33 am

paulmcohen wrote: . . .

The problem is this little detail in not widely published so a lot of people just assume they can't get coverage and don't follow the steps necessary to guarantee coverage. I know this works for Oregon, Washington and California because I and others I know have used it. Also many states have insurance pools for people who get turned down for insurance.

. . .

Methinks widespread knowledge of that detail would make 'Obamacare' much less a 'Hot Button', Dusty.

Question remains, how many other states does it apply to???

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sun Sep 25, 2011 11:32 am

JPG40504 wrote:Methinks widespread knowledge of that detail would make 'Obamacare' much less a 'Hot Button', Dusty.

Question remains, how many other states does it apply to???

I don't know exactly which program Paul is referencing but I do know that there is a federally administered program that provides coverage to those who have been denied coverage.

fjimp · Post by **fjimp** » Sun Sep 25, 2011 9:09 pm

As a professional health insurance agent I have learned first hand the risks involved by attempting to quote appropriate laws, regulations and practices in each state. Using an agent familiar with a given states practices works a lot better. Regulations vary widely and I have discovered that during many exchanges with potential clients they somehow mention only what in there minds constitute serious medical history. I recently attempted to quote coverage for an individual based upon information provided. When the application was presented to the carrier of choice the situation changed drastically when the carrier checked medical history. Reexamination of medical history with the client enabled me as an agent to find coverage. Unfortunately the premiums were higher than desired. Later I discovered this prospect had previously applied without advice of an agent and been refused. Using a trained professional is crucial in order to reach a desired outcome. Regarding the Obama fiasco, we will all discover many hidden surprises and rapidly escalating costs. Even the government finance people are beginning to make negative statements in this regard. I for one believe that when laws are made without adequate input from the people who know the facts and when a bill passes containing over 2,800 pages we are headed down a slippery slope that is going to anger most people in some way. As to the future of professional agents remaining invloved, that is a practice whose days are numbered. One of the portions of the bill intentionally lowers the earnings of agents so dramatically that we cannot even cover the basic costs of doing business. I had hoped to continue working a few more years but will likely close my business by the end of next year. I see no future in attempting to maintain a business if I am losing money. Beside making sawdust is a lot more fun. I apologize for the rant and only hope some reading it can find some value in my rather cryptic remarks.