Scan Medical Insurance

Scared of picking the wrong health insurance!!!!?

In lieu of "Sicko", and reading so many horror stories on health care denials, unpaid claims, etc, etc; it really has me scared to pick an individual plan. I keep hearing that most of these "horror" stories, usually involve HMO's. I am going with a PPO, but nonetheless; I'm left pretty nervous. I am a healthy 30 year old, but I really need to vest in some individual insurance. I was thinking about going with BlueCross of Illinois, but I keep hearing (well reading) awful things about BlueCross BlueShield. Does anyone have ANY advice? Should I go with Humana, Aetna, United? I don't know WHAT to do?!

Public Comments

1. whatever you do don't pick harvard pilgrim health care...my mom has it, and i m in physical therapy. they told me that i have to get better in 60 days and after that we have to pay for it ourselves!!!!!
2. Here's what I did. I broke it down into 2 categories: "catasprophic" and "routine". Then I wrote down the prices and info for the best one in each of those 2 categories. The catastrophic one doesn't cover routine office visits or prescriptions but it is only $150 a month. The routine one pays for routine visits and prescriptions but it is $600 a month. And I would still have to pay a $20 copay each time. So at a minimum I would have to spend $450 a month ($600-$150=$450) every month on doctor appointments and prescriptions to justify getting the "routine" plan. Plus the catastrophic plans are required in most states to cover certain things by law: Pap smears, child immunizations, well child and adult physicals, etc. I have a family of 4 and as much as my kids go to the doctor for ear infections, colds, etc we still thought we'd make out better with the cheap plan. Just figure out how much you spend in doctors visits each year, prescriptions too (leave out yearly physicals and pap appts). Is it more or less that the amount of money you'd be saving by going with the cheaper plan? If something horrible happens and you need major surgery then the catastrophic one kicks in after a deductible that you choose. Phew are you still reading? That got long, sorry!
3. Even within the Ins Company can be many varied plans depending upon the agreements made between the insurer and the insured. You need to compair the offerings side by side (what is no charge such as an annual exam or obgyn visit, what is the co-pay or deductable, hospital coverage etc) to decide which is giving the best bang for your buck. All companies have their strengths and weaknesses and the biggest mistake you can make is to be without coverage. An accident in which you break your leg could cost say $20,000 if you need surgery to fix it. At the very minimum you need a major medical insurance policy. I have a PPO thru Principal and my husband has insurance via Aetna (he is a teacher) As I said before, both have their strengths and weaknesses. When either of us had a payment issue we called the company and it was resoved quickly even if it was in our favor. Good luck choosing