Getting Private Health Insurance? Tips? (medical, plan, hospital, doctor)

[the_grimace]

I've been uninsured for 8 years now (since I was 18). In the last 4-5 years, I've really wanted to get health insurance, but every time I try to look at plans, I get super confused, and my general conclusion is that is a total ripoff and I'm better off just as self pay. (pending no huge emergencies). Background: I work as a contractor so I'm ineligible for benefits, I'm still looking for a full-time position.

This year I've had some health issues with my stomach and stress/anxiety, and I've been racking up the bills again getting bloodwork, tests, and doctor visits. (around $3500 this year so far and growing) I keep telling myself to get insurance already, but it just seems like a total ripoff. Not only am I looking at paying a couple hundred a month for an "average" plan, most plans seem extremely vague in what they cover and don't cover, with stuff you think that should be covered actually not being covered! Then you end up paying for this type of stuff out of pocket (till your deductible is covered) or having to buy an extra plan to cover these expenses. It seems obviously better to just self pay, but I guess the point here is that I'm so uneducated on health insurance, I'm not really sure.

So what are my best options? Are there any services out there that act as "health advisors", someone that can help you get an insurance plan and explain exactly how it works? (in regards to what is covered or not, since I always find this the biggest gray area when looking at plans). Am I right to think it is actually cheaper to be self pay than have a health insurance plan right now? (I'm 26, but like I said have been having some heath issues with my stomach this year)

Someone suggested I just buy a "catastrophe plan" for real cheap, like $25-30 a month to protect me from emergency medical needs or surgery, and keep self paying for my doctor visits and tests.

All and all, I'm completely lost and confused about health insurance and not really sure who to turn to for help! Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!

[RememberMee]

Yes, private individual insurance is a rip off and bottom feeding snakes have 1000 ways to drop your coverage in a case you'll become too expensive. As an individual you stand no chance of winning legal muddling with an insurance Co because you are desperate & poor enough to purchase their products in the first place, you have nothing left for lawyers. Obamacare promises better ways to buy private insurance, actually it forces people to buy private insurance, unfortunately medical insurance is oxymoron by definition, since everybody gets sick, the only way an insurance Co can make money on it - denying coverage to the very sick and very expensive-to-treat individuals.

Rule of thumb, the smaller insurance Co the slimier its business practices are. This is not to say that medical field is not teaming with rip off artists and slime, but that's another story.

Don't get sick, learn about health issues (it's not rocket science, really) never order tests through a doc/hospitals (outrageous rip off), avoid hospital services as plague (Unless you are a rock bottom poor they can and they will force you into bankruptcy), seek stand-alone for profit labs (these tend to be the cheapest, but the way medical racket operates direct patient services are doomed to be outlawed, but it's still legal in some states).

In short, it's America, don't get sick unless you are really rich or really poor.

[Flamingo13]

http://www.city-data.com/forum/health-insurance/

[the_grimace]

oops, didn't see that. thanks.