Searching for non-marketplace health policies?

[BarbWire]

I need to start searching for 2019 health insurance, and will not be getting a subsidy, so I am not limited to policies offered on the marketplace.

It seems that HealthSherpa only shows policies that are part of the marketplace. The same seems to be true of eHealthInsurance.

Is there a website/resource that shows insurers/plans that are not participating in the ACA marketplace? Or are there better approaches to finding out who is offering health insurance in a given county (Texas)?

This will probably consume much of November. Sigh.

[gauss]

Well the whole idea of the marketplaces was to allow consumers to transparently compare options.

If you don't want to go this route, for whatever reason, you could try an insurance broker or two.

I don't think there are any additional tax filing consequences if you buy a marketplace policy and don't receive the subsidy.

Do you think the off marketplace policies would be more competitive given the lack of transparency?

What is your concern about Marketplace policies?

-gauss

[Cessna152]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gauss What is your concern about Marketplace policies?

What is your concern over more market options?

To the OP: health insurance agent can help. Web search using the keywords/phrase “non-aca compliant health plan” should yield some useful hits.

[24601NoMore]

I have a similar interest - want to buy a non-ACA policy as it'd presumably be far less costly than a plan that forces coverage for things that don't apply to me as a mid 50 year old male (eg: pregnancy coverage). That's one of the things the ACA does badly IMHO that drives up costs.

Would be very interested in researching alternatives if such a thing exists.

[Mulligan]

Non ACA plans are going to be the inderwritten short term health plans.They are not considered true insurance. Any off exchange plan must be ACA compliant. Dont be expecting to find a bargain. That being said I will be contacting an area insurance broker to see if I can find an off exchange HSA plan. I will even pay up a bit to get the ong term investment tax break. There are no HSA plans on exchange for me.

[MBSC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarbWire Is there a website/resource that shows insurers/plans that are not participating in the ACA marketplace? Or are there better approaches to finding out who is offering health insurance in a given county (Texas)?

Off-Exchange Health Plan Finder: https://finder.healthcare.gov/

This site has lower priority than the Marketplace so don't expect it to show 2019 plans before mid-November. Changes from 2018 should be minimal. It only lists ACA compliant plans. Non-compliant plans fall under another category.

You can also contact an independent insurance broker.

[joeea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarbWire Is there a website/resource that shows insurers/plans that are not participating in the ACA marketplace? Or are there better approaches to finding out who is offering health insurance in a given county (Texas)? This will probably consume much of November. Sigh.

Talk to an insurance broker. They can hook you up with a non-compliant policy quickly.

Make sure you tell them that you are looking for price rather than coverage. Plenty of less expensive plans out there these days.

[orchid55]

I am also looking for off-exchange policies. I'm in the Atlanta area and we have BCBS, Ambetter and Kaiser as our on-exchange offerings. BCBS and Kaiser have their off-exchange policies available to look at and purchase on their websites. From what I could see BCBS offers the same policies at the same price both off and on the exchange. Kaiser is silver-loading. Their on-exchange silver policies are about 15% more than the same off-exchange silver policies. Their bronze and gold policies are about $2 more expensive off-exchange.

Last year I was never able to find any Ambetter off-exchange policies.

Anyway, checking the websites of the on-exchange companies in your area might help.

[audreyh1]

We buy off exchange plans. They are still ACA compliant. I think I’ve found comparisons through the ehealthinsurance site, and always check with the individual insurance companies of interest to find any additional off exchange policies.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetireSoon I have a similar interest - want to buy a non-ACA policy as it'd presumably be far less costly than a plan that forces coverage for things that don't apply to me as a mid 50 year old male (eg: pregnancy coverage). That's one of the things the ACA does badly IMHO that drives up costs. Would be very interested in researching alternatives if such a thing exists.

Young people’s health insurance policies are much cheaper. Once you are over 50 you aren’t being dinged for things like maternity coverage. Older people in general incur more healthcare costs even though they aren’t having babies anymore. Men are just as costly as women if not more so at certain age ranges.

[BarbWire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gauss What is your concern about Marketplace policies? -gauss

In many places, the subsidy-eligible policies offered through the Marketplace (exchange) are, IMHO, very poor products with limited networks, no out-of-network protections, etc.

If, as in my case, you do not qualify for subsidies, you may be able to find a non-Marketplace (off-Exchange) policy which is a better product. For example, in the Dallas area, Scott&White has chosen not to participate in the marketplace, and offers non-subsidized insurance policies to individuals.

So, if I am going to have to pay through the nose for medical insurance, I want to find a good product, and not be constrained by the marketplace/exchange offerings.


Also, note that I am looking for an ACA-compliant policy, and not necessarily price shopping. I want an insurance product/policy that might actually be useful to me.

[mhk7]

I made the big mistake of giving my phone number on a couple of the insurance websites...they won't help you if you don't...it's like I was surrounded by sharks...call/texts all the time from numerous states...I don't know how to stop them...I just wanted an idea of what the coverage would be for a self-employed single guy who is thinking of starting his own business...There must be quite a bit of money involved if you sign someone up.

[zinger1457]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarbWire In many places, the subsidy-eligible policies offered through the Marketplace (exchange) are, IMHO, very poor products with limited networks, no out-of-network protections, etc.

It's my understanding that all the ACA marketplace plans provide out of network coverage in case of emergencies.

[gauss]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarbWire In many places, the subsidy-eligible policies offered through the Marketplace (exchange) are, IMHO, very poor products with limited networks, no out-of-network protections, etc. If, as in my case, you do not qualify for subsidies, you may be able to find a non-Marketplace (off-Exchange) policy which is a better product. For example, in the Dallas area, Scott&White has chosen not to participate in the marketplace, and offers non-subsidized insurance policies to individuals. So, if I am going to have to pay through the nose for medical insurance, I want to find a good product, and not be constrained by the marketplace/exchange offerings. Also, note that I am looking for an ACA-compliant policy, and not necessarily price shopping. I want an insurance product/policy that might actually be useful to me.

Ok --thanks for the clarification.

Another option you may want to consider is contacting your State Insurance Commissioner's office.

As each state regulates its own insurance industry, all policies would need to be approved by the state. They may be able to give you a single spreadsheet with all the currently offered policies. If you were real lucky, you could find it on their web site. There is a good chance they may not release the information publicly (or require a FOIA), but it may be worth an hour of investigation.

If you go the insurance broker route, you may want to look into creating a Google Voice account and email address to give out. That way you can limit the cold calling and emailing down the road as suggested in an above post. I did this recently as part of an Assisted Living search for my DM.

-gauss