Individual heath insurance (Columbus, Mutual: health insurance, broker, deductible)

[mrsuggestion]

Any suggestions on health insurance coverage for a 26 year old part time student, part time worker in Columbus Ohio? No pre-existing conditions.

Thank you,
Matt

[CortlandGirl79]

Find someone that can get you at least three quotes, decide how high of a deductible you can afford. When i didn't have insurance I had Anthem for a while, but then they got too expensive so I got Medical Mutual of Ohio for around $100/month w/a $2500 deductible.

[jodipper]

Go to the ehealthinsurance web site. You can compare policies by price, deductible, and coverage. Suzie Ormon and most financial people recommend them. An agent would not for obvious reasons.
If you smoke expect to pay more. I pay $252 for $2500 Medical Mutual, but I am more than twice your age, and smoke.

A lot of people don't realize that even if your deductible is not reached, say an emergency room visit, you don't have to pay full price. You would pay the insurance companies negotiated price, not the uninsured price. So even if all a person could afford is a $10,000 deductible, they would be better off than not having insurance.

[mrsuggestion]

Thank you both for your advice. I will look into the options.

Matt

[OQuotes]

Somehow I saw this thread online. Just to provide accurate information....agents don't recommend EHealth because customers prefer to work with experienced brokers located in Ohio instead of a customer service number out of state.

Rates here in Ohio are mandated so there is no difference in rates offered by a broker or EHealth.

Based on my 30 years in the business, customers want to speak to someone who is unbiased, knows the state, and can fully explain details of each and every carrier. Yes, I prefer Ohioquotes.com, the premier trusted authority in the state. Of course I'm a bit biased! Any experienced Ohio broker will do fine.

Re the 26 year-old male... Medical Mutual's rate is $93 per month for the SuperMed One Copay plan and UnitedHealthCare's rate is $86 for similar coverage. Of course, they do have a $4 fee as well. But there are also low cost options in the $55- $75 range from Anthem that offer limited office visit benefits.

In fairness, there are many variables and these rates assume a healthy male with normal BMI. I hope this helps.

[jodipper]

Originally Posted by OQuotes

Somehow I saw this thread online. Just to provide accurate information....agents don't recommend EHealth because customers prefer to work with experienced brokers located in Ohio instead of a customer service number out of state.

Rates here in Ohio are mandated so there is no difference in rates offered by a broker or EHealth.

Based on my 30 years in the business, customers want to speak to someone who is unbiased, knows the state, and can fully explain details of each and every carrier. Yes, I prefer Ohioquotes.com, the premier trusted authority in the state. Of course I'm a bit biased! Any experienced Ohio broker will do fine.

Re the 26 year-old male... Medical Mutual's rate is $93 per month for the SuperMed One Copay plan and UnitedHealthCare's rate is $86 for similar coverage. Of course, they do have a $4 fee as well. But there are also low cost options in the $55- $75 range from Anthem that offer limited office visit benefits.

In fairness, there are many variables and these rates assume a healthy male with normal BMI. I hope this helps.

Though ehealth my policy is with a broker in Columbus. The broker handles other companies besides Medical Mutual. I am sure that they can explain everything needed. I don't know where you got the idea that there is only a customer service number and brokers are not involved.

[OQuotes]

Local brokers are not involved in EHealth. That's a fact. You may have a broker in Columbus and that's great. Bravo! But independent brokers do not work for EHealth.

Yes, they can place an EHealth link on their website but that just shows they don't want to deal with the local customer.