best health insurance for a 2 man small business in Nashville... (sales, broker) - Tennessee (TN) - City-Data Forum

12buttons · 08-14-2009, 02:55 AM

husband and I have a small company - was wondering what the best health insurer would be for that type ..no kdis - just looking for a basic affordable vanilla type plan..thanks!

septimus · 08-14-2009, 05:40 AM

have you tried an insurance broker? I know BCBS has insurance for individuals. Also I'm not sure of the exact name, but I have a client that uses something like Tennessee Rural Farmers for health insurance.

rossc · 08-14-2009, 05:52 AM

When we were self employed, Humana was pretty affordable. The deductible was high ($7500) but the premium was only $97 per month per person. I forget the name of the plan, but it was pretty much the cheapest plan they had. I'm paying the same now through an employer for a much lower premium.

I've heard Farm Bureau is a good option as well.

fumanchu41 · 08-14-2009, 06:06 AM

I would recommend NASE(National Association for the Self Employed). We set up our insurance through them. Since there are so many members, they are able to get us better rates than what we found on the open market. Allows you to customize your health plan based on your needs and comfort level. Hope this helps.

rossc · 08-14-2009, 06:52 AM

Maybe they've got better in the past few years. I looked into NASE a few years ago and Blue Cross/Anthem was WAY cheaper and a better policy. The plan premium was slightly higher than anthem but once you figure in the NASE annual dues it doesn't work.

When we moved to Tn we had Anthem and wanted to stay with them, but the policy had to be changed to Blue Cross/Blue Shield of TN. We couldn't get a call back from a TN sales rep, so we switched to Humana.

fumanchu41 · 08-14-2009, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rossc

Maybe they've got better in the past few years. I looked into NASE a few years ago and Blue Cross/Anthem was WAY cheaper and a better policy. The plan premium was slightly higher than anthem but once you figure in the NASE annual dues it doesn't work.

When we moved to Tn we had Anthem and wanted to stay with them, but the policy had to be changed to Blue Cross/Blue Shield of TN. We couldn't get a call back from a TN sales rep, so we switched to Humana.

Maybe they have different prices for individual states. Blue Cross/Anthem was way too expensive where we are. We're still on the east coast planning our move to the area.

Pimpy · 08-14-2009, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fumanchu41

I would recommend NASE(National Association for the Self Employed). We set up our insurance through them. Since there are so many members, they are able to get us better rates than what we found on the open market. Allows you to customize your health plan based on your needs and comfort level. Hope this helps.

NASE is a joke. Their insurance is through a company called Mega Life and Health, whose name is absolute mud in the health insurance industry. Read your policy closely and you'll find more holes than a piece of Swiss cheese. Also, the line they feed you about getting better rates by joining the association is complete bologna. It's still an individual health plan, the broker just makes an extra commission by getting you to join NASE. Stay far away, there are much better options.

Humana One is what I would recommend.

gbone · 08-14-2009, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pimpy

NASE is a joke. Their insurance is through a company called Mega Life and Health, whose name is absolute mud in the health insurance industry. Read your policy closely and you'll find more holes than a piece of Swiss cheese. Also, the line they feed you about getting better rates by joining the association is complete bologna. It's still an individual health plan, the broker just makes an extra commission by getting you to join NASE. Stay far away, there are much better options.

Humana One is what I would recommend.

Have to agree with Pimpy on NASE/Mega Life and Health. I did some research on this a few years back and found numerous lawsuits involving Mega Life, many holes in the coverage, problems with denials of claims, and inexperienced/poorly trained sales people.

fumanchu41 · 08-14-2009, 02:03 PM

Hmm. Any suggestions on an affordable and legit health plan for self employed? I don't want the gov't option that's in the house and Senate.

Thank you.

rossc · 08-14-2009, 02:14 PM

Humana is probably the best. I would compare them against Anthem if you can get a sales agent for Anthem on the phone. I tried a few insurance agents around town and none of then came close to what I got directly from Humana. I have an employer provided policy now. It has a lower deductible but costs me the same as my Humana plan did.