Health Insurance in N.J. ??

T

TraderBob

Am looking for a new carrier for health insurance for myself and family (3 people). Aetna, my present carrier, is upping the annual cost from $7,416 to 10,296 or 38% increase !! They claim their costs have gone up. With an average of 4 doctor's visits a year, I figure this is over $2,500 a visit !! N.J. seems to be among the highest states for all types of insurance.

I have checked with Costco and Sam's Club but they do not offer group health insurance. I know that some prop firms offer group health insurance but I am not a prop trader and don't plan on going prop anytime in the near future.

Any leads would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
TraderBob,

Without knowing what your situation is, like having a child that requires a lot of medical attention etc I will make a general recommendation. If your family is fairly healthy the new Medical Savings Accounts for self employed people let you take a policy with 1200 - 2500 deductible and fund that into a Medical Savings account. So the first 1200-2500 of expenses would be paid out of your pocket with tax-free money from the MSA. 60% of the premiums are deductible against your income since you are self employed.

I think you will find just by funding the first 2500 in risk yourself you will save a ton of money on premiums which could be used to put into the MSA. For instance I have a policy with Mutual Of Omaha with a Million Dollar Cap and a 10K deductible. I pay about $500 a year.

You may want to look at a Quotesmith.com or one of the insurance sites. Golden Rule, Time, John Alden and a few others have decent major medical coverage that is reasonably priced.
 
Check Blue Cross - at least in Illinois they run commercials about several types of insurance for individuals. They also have small group insurance for small businesses with as few as 2 employees - so if you trade under cover of a business you could set you and your wife up as the two employees and it might be cheaper than your alternatives. But don't know if the NJ plan has anything similar.
 
I appreciate all your replies. We don't have any unusal medical expenses thats the part that really ticks me off. The average is 4-5 doctor's visits per year most of which is for our 8 yo daughter for the usual childhood illnesses. I'd be willing to pay all routine medical expenses and prescriptions out of my pocket. Just need health insurance for major illnesses or hospitalization. Would like to find a high deductible plan if such exists.

Unfortunately, N.J. always seems to be one of the few states that does not allow high deductible or low cost plans to be offered. Could state legislators be in the pockets of insurance companies ?? It really makes one wonder.

Thanks again for your leads - I will definitely check them out. The MSA option sound very promising. Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ (aka Horizon) had given me a quote of about 11,500 per year when I checked with them last year. I told them thanks but no thanks. I will check back with them to find out the number of participants needed for a group plan. Perhaps that might be a less expensive route.

Will post the results of my search as soon as I find the best and least expensive alternative.
 
Bob -

i hate to burst your bubble, but there is no cheap health insurance in NJ.

NJ guarantees health insurance to anyone regardless of medical condition - so in essence, the person who visits the doctor as infrequently as you do pays the same as someone who visits every other day - they don't turn anyone down, and don't discriminate based on your health.

I pay the same high rates as the rest - its all part of living in NJ!

Kinda runs along the same lines as car insurance - all frigged up.
 
I went to quotesmith and plugged in 2 40 year olds and 1 kid just guessing at your ages. With a 2500 deductible and 80/20 coinsurance up to 5000k the lowest premium was 973 per month. Now this was the AC zip code as this was the only zip I have in Jersey, and never you mind why :cool:

The same numbers in NC where I live now were about 273$.

Pumping up the deductible may be the best way to save.

Best of luck.
 
MBG

You may be right. But I have to believe there are many other states that guarantee health insurance to their residents without allowing carriers to gouge the individuals with outrageous premiums. My understanding of the guarantee that you mentioned is that no provider (i.e. insurance carrier) can deny heath insurance to an individual in that state. Big deal, so the carriers just up the premiums accordingly.

The business model that I think makes the most sense is to offer a low premium high deductible coverage (i.e. catastrophic health insurance) OR a Pay For Service model which would offer low premium coverage for a certain $$ amount of coverage per year for routine visits. As usage increases so do the premiums on a graduated basis.

I had a friend who worked in the emergency room of a hospital of an HMO. She told me that many times she would see the same mothers come in with their kids with runny noses and coughs !! Do you have any idea what emergency rooms costs are and what this does in driving up healthcare costs for all members ? If there was ever a case for a Pay For Service model, this is it .

Maybe there is no low cost alternative for N.J. I still have to check out the new Medical Savings Account option. Supposedly, this federal reform for small businesses and self-employed individuals can lower healthcare costs by 50%. Thats over $5K per year for me if true.
 
Look into Horizon BC small business plans.
I have one for the family. ~$500 per month. Deductible 2500.
Copay with no ded of 10% in network

private mail me if you want more info.


Stuart
 
Stuart,

Tried sending you a private e-mail per your offer to get more info on the plan you mentioned and got back the message that you are not set up to receive e-mails from this board.

Please send me a private e-mail with details of the plan you mentioned in your post............Thanks
 
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