Health Insurance (Charleston, York, Vance: house, neighborhoods, to buy)

[Barbara]

Hi again:

Could someone possibly tell me about health insurance in South Carolina? Currently we have a pretty good health plan through my husbands employer that covers my husband, myself, and our daughter. I've researched pretty much everything else that I could about neighborhoods, schools, etc. and have made several visits to the area. What do people do there for health care? Do most employers still give it? Is there a state plan you can get like we can get something called Healthy New York. I know some people that have it and they all say it's pretty good. If you need to buy your own family plan is it expensive? This is my last big concern before we put our house on the market, but it keeps me up at nite thinking about it.

Are the hospitals good?

Thanks.

[Chromekitty]

I do not believe that SC has such a plan and MUSC is great!

[Barbara]

Thanks for the reply. So what do most people do for health insurance there?
One possible employer my husband spoke with said they provide it. Do you know if private insurance there is very costly? I know there are big cost differences from state to state for private insurance.

[Chromekitty]

Many either have it offered through employment, buy private insurance or simply do w/out.

I do not know about costs, maybe you could check with some online quotes?

[eversonsc]

Many larger companies offer health insurance as a benefit. If you want to buy privately the biggest company that sells very good plans is Blue Cross/Blue Shield of South Carolina. You can even buy it online I think. Here is a link to get a quote I Need Insurance | BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina

The hospitals here are some of the best we've seen in the country and my wife is an RN at MUSC.

[Barbara]

Thank you so much for that info!

[emilybh]

I'm an independent health insurance agent and I think you'll find, having moved here from the northeast myself that the so called "health care crisis" is nowhere near as bad here as it is in New York. The reason it is so bad in New York and New Jersey and most states in New England except for CT and NH is due to the fact that the states in the northeast dictate what health insurers can and can't do. The end result, like you have in New York is the complete obliteration of the individual insurance market. All the carriers that sell to individuals and families except for a few that provide plans only directly to the insured persons, are gone. They left ages ago to do business in friendlier states like VA and the Carolinas.

The reason things are better here is that we have something called a high risk health insurance pool where the highest risks can get their insurance so the private market can offer lower rates to the heathier majority. Also here, the states aren't involved to the extent states in the northeast are in trying to CONTROL health insurers. The end result is that there are more companies doing business here than in New York, offering many more plans that offer much lower rates than in New York .

There is the state wide Blue Cross company as well as national heath insurers. Take your pick. a good independent agent should be able to show you the advantages and disadvantages of each. As long as you don't have major chronic conditions and aren't on a zillion Rxs, you've got much more choice here at better rates than in New York, that is for sure!

However when it comes to hospital quality, I think NY and the northeast may have the edge as compared to Charleston SC facilities which only seems reasonable considering the number and caliber of schools in the area. There are no Ivy league or really big name schools with medical schools in the whole state of SC whereas the northeast is teeming with them. However of the top 146 medical schools in the country, one U.S. News and World Report site ranks MUSC at 75th http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsa...arch-rankings/ for research which is pretty good considering. Here is another site which has the top 100 hospitals. http://www.100tophospitals.com/winne...iowinners.aspx

[Barbara]

Thanks, this is something that is really important to myself and my family. Right now our health insurance is pretty good, although we've only used it for regular/routine things. Nothing major. I checked out the Blue Cross one and I like that you can use it anywhere in the country, but I would have to do much more research.

[emilybh]

Originally Posted by Barbara

Thanks, this is something that is really important to myself and my family. Right now our health insurance is pretty good, although we've only used it for regular/routine things. Nothing major. I checked out the Blue Cross one and I like that you can use it anywhere in the country, but I would have to do much more research.

Be careful. There is a HUGE misconception about Blue Cross. Unlike having a plan with United Health Care or Assurant which are national companies and have contracts with national networks so your coverage works the same whether you are using a local provider or one a thousand miles away, this is NOT necessarily so with Blue Cross. This is because when you contract with Blue Cross you are not doing business with a national company. Instead you contract with the local Blue Cross carrier in your state. Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New York is not the same Blue Cross company as Anthem Blue Cross in New Hampshire and Connecticut is not the same Blue Cross as Blue Cross of SC. Some of these carriers have negotiated with other Blue Cross companies so that their customers can use other Blue Cross networks in other parts of the country and have the reimbursement from the local Blue Cross carrier accepted as payment in full. However this is NOT the case with every Blue Cross carrier. Yes, with Blue Cross you can USE any other Blue Cross network in the country however, your Blue Cross carrier may or may not pay for all the services you received from the out of area Blue Cross provider in full. You need to ALWAYS check IN ADVANCE of using the out of area provider and make sure the reimbursement your Blue Cross company will provide will be accepted as payment in full and not have a situation where after the fact, the out of area providers balance bill you (or bill you for extra charges your insurance wouldn't cover).

[Barbara]

Good to know! Thank you soooo much.