Does anyone know a lot about health insurance, or maybe know someone who does? I’m currently paying COBRA, which is really expensive and I would like to find something cheaper. I could probably easily find a health insurance plan, but I found out that no single plan will cover my back condition (even though it hasn’t given me any problems for a long time). So I need to get some advice on what I should do. Could I get a secondary insurance that would cover just my back condition? Do I need to cover my back condition? What would be the long-term affects of doing it one way or the other? If God cares for the sparrow and the lillys, do I need health insurance ( 🙂 ). These are the kinds of questions I’m asking (and there are probably other questions I should ask but am just not aware of yet!).
Or, maybe I could get insurance through Rock Creek Fellowship (I doubt it)?
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The long-term answer is to have employer-paid insurance. Most larger employers will offer insurance that only punishes a “preexisting condition” (your back) for the first 12 months of employment. After that, it would be covered.
In the meantime, the cheapest plan is not a traditional insurance plan but acts like one. It’s called Christian Care Medi-Share. Aunt Janice had it for a while when her insurance was too expensive through LifeWay. The concept is that the members’ premiums cover other members healthcare coverage. Grandma Judy currently uses this as her insurance coverage.
There are different coverage levels (as with all insurance) ranging from catastrophic (just covering the big stuff like surgery, broken bones, heart attacks, cancer, etc.) to full coverage (covering colds, sniffles, medication, back pain, etc.). Janice had the catastrophic plan so she wouldn’t get reimbursed for the simple things (hich really isn’t a big deal because by the time to pay deductables and copays, full coverage insurance doesn’t cover the sniffles much anyway)nor did it cover medication. Her coverage, which gurded aginst the big expenses was just $106 per month. Quite inexpensive.
I can share more details in a phone conversation, if interested.
One advantage to working for a large employer (not that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages) is that they have very comprehensive insurance coverage, although it’s not too cheap for the employee. But the coverage is extensive and there are no preexsiting condition clauses. Plus, the Bank pays for things like $10,000 toward every adoption of a child, etc.
Thank you very much, Uncle David. I haven’t had a chance to look into the Christian medi-share yet, so I don’t have questions/know what to ask yet. I’m hoping to spend some time looking into the possibility on Saturday.