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My COBRA is expensive at $485 a month for dental, vision, and medical. The HR rep. said I don't need to except all the coverage and I mainly like the Dental plan because I have a history of bad teeth. The medical plan in the COBRA is Kaiser and I have been very happy with what I pay for the copays and meds.
Going through a seperate Kaiser plan NOT through COBRA is $271 a month with $40 copays and $10 generic meds $35 for brand name meds. Each month I would have to pay $336 for medical and dental if I choose to not use COBRA for medical.
I currently take the following medications:
Maxalt- for migraines
Microgestin- for birth control
Bupropion hcl- for depression
Lorazepam- for panic attacks
Erythro benzoyl gel- for acne breakouts
I am not sure if I should just pay the COBRA in full and pay the extra $149 a month because I am pretty happy with my plan, or to leave the COBRA for medical and get a separate plan through Kaiser.
Basically by switching my copays go up from $10 to $40 and my generic meds would go from $5 to $10. I maybe see my shrink 3x a year and my internal medicine doctor at 3x a year (to be conservative).
I would do a side by side on the mental health coverage in both plans and see if the Kaiser plan excludes pre existing conditions.........
I can tell you that even though I work in SC, I have BCBS of MD and it is a way different plan (much much better) than the plan I could buy in SC. ... so you really have to do line by line. Also, Cobra is not forever and I think it varies. How long can you carry it?
OP, you can hang on to your COBRA while you are shopping to see if you can come up with a better plan on your own. However, be quick about finding something else. Yes, it will require the OP to actually get out their and due dillegence for yourself; or find an insurance broker to help you find plans.
I can have COBRA for 18 months. I know I will be able to get a full time job with benefits in my past line of work (HATED, HATED, HATED it though) in September if I move too undesirable places.
With my COBRA, say I need to stay overnight at hospital, need an operation, or need something major. It pretty much is all paid for or nearly paid for. The other one I would have to pay some $$ for that although it is somewhat reasonable.
A part of me says just to pay into the COBRA. I don't even know if I would qualify for the $271 rate since I am on a lot of meds. and have some issues.
OP, you can hang on to your COBRA while you are shopping to see if you can come up with a better plan on your own. However, be quick about finding something else. Yes, it will require the OP to actually get out their and due dillegence for yourself; or find an insurance broker to help you find plans.
That's what I have been doing. I paid my COBRA for the first month and have been looking since. The plan I like the most is the $271 a month through Kaiser. I found much cheaper plans through Blue Cross, but the thing is, I want to be conservative with picking medical plans since I am on medications and usually do see a doctor 3x a year.
I can have COBRA for 18 months. I know I will be able to get a full time job with benefits in my past line of work (HATED, HATED, HATED it though) in September if I move too undesirable places.
With my COBRA, say I need to stay overnight at hospital, need an operation, or need something major. It pretty much is all paid for or nearly paid for. The other one I would have to pay some $$ for that although it is somewhat reasonable.
A part of me says just to pay into the COBRA. I don't even know if I would qualify for the $271 rate since I am on a lot of meds. and have some issues.
You may be subject to additional premiums or waivers on certain health issues on new coverage. It maybe best to accept the COBRA plan based on that. You can always apply and reject the coverage if it is not cost effective.
Individual policies can be cheaper than Cobra, but be aware they do NOT satisfy the requirement for continous coverage to protect your rights under HIPPA.
Ok, I know, the Obama plan should eliminate all that, but we have to go with the rules as they currently are, not as we hope they will someday be.
In case you don't know what I'm talking about---
HIPPA stands for Health insurance Privacy and Portability Act
They are two seperate issues, but were bundeled together for passage. the privacy act is why you have to sign all those forms, etc.
That has nothing to do with portability.
If you have a previous existing condition, any insurance can refuse to cover it for up to 2 years of initiating the policy---meaning you pay the premiums for 2 years without the condition being covered. Individual policies can refuse to cover the condition forever.
If you go from one group policy to another, AND maintain continous coverage without a break in coverage for 63 days, the new group policy cannot refuse to cover the previous existing condition.
Otherwise, even group plans can and do exclude previous existing conditions for as long as legally allowed.
So, say you decide an individual plan is cheaper than Cobra, and go with it, you're giving up your rights for continous coverage under HIPPA. Then, later on, you get hired by a big corporation with a group health plan. They will insure you, they can't deny you entry into the plan, but they can deny you coverage for ANY previous existing condition for up to 2 years. If you had been covered on a previous group plan they must give you access to full coverage despite previous existing conditions. BTW, medicare and Cobra are both considered to be group coverage.
You may be subject to additional premiums or waivers on certain health issues on new coverage. It maybe best to accept the COBRA plan based on that. You can always apply and reject the coverage if it is not cost effective.
Cobra can't single you out for higher rates for any current problems you may have---if you can get Cobra for $271/mo, grab it, trust me, you won't find a better deal. We paid $1500/month for Cobra, for a family of 4, that was full medical, dental, and vision, but still, wiped out our savings!
Thanks. Decided to shut up and pay the $485 a month. This forum and another one helped a lot. I basically was told that having anxiety and mild depression is just as much as a red flag to insurance companies as having cancer. All this crap made me realize that you have to be very, very careful what you say to doctors because it can come back to haunt you in terms of $$$.
The only real red flag I see is shrink. What exactly is your Dx? Do you know the DSM IV code? Have you been officially Dx'd with GAD? Are you on four or more psychotropic meds? If so, I'd go the COBRA route. No sense in getting a decline on a personal policy as it looks bad. However, if you can get a personal policy, it will be MUCH cheaper.
Ah, didn't read the whole thread. Good choice. Believe me, things come back to haunt you. I pay $1200 a month for portability for things coming back to haunt me. And this is JUST for me alone. I learned the hard way. I said too much. However, my depression has gone beyond mild as have other things, so I really haven't had a choice.
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