more_or_less said:
I am trying to assess what my real costs will be if I can ER now (at age 57). I understand and can project almost all my future costs pretty well -- except for health insurance.
I now have health insurance fr my family under Cobra but I do not know where or how to reliably find individual health insurance prices that pertain to our existing health conditions (which have some hypertension and other issues). I expect all the "quotes" from the free, on-line web sites are probably not reliable given we're not in perfect heath.
Wonder how other people have successfully find a good health insurance agent to help then understand and locate their options -- or if that is even the way to go?
You can search for a local agent/broker by zipcode using the following website:
http://www.nahu.org/consumer/findagent.cfm
If you have hypertension, the insurance carriers will look for other cardio risk factors such as how long ago you were diagnosed (at least 6 months), how many medications are needed to control the condition, what is your current height and weight, and do you have elevated cholesterol in combination with the HBP? If your condition is controlled with one medication and has been controlled for at least 6 months, then you are looking at maybe a slight rate-up (10-25%) just as long as you have none of the other above mentioned risk factors. If you do have more than one of the other risk factors or are taking more than 2 meds to control the HBP, then you are looking at a potential declination of coverage. High Deductible, HSA compatible healthplans tend to be more lenient with the rate-ups than full coverage copay plans with drug copay cards, and that is because of the cost of meds. On a high deductible plan, your medication costs are a lower risk to the carrier, while on a copay plan the cost of meds is a higher risk to the carrier. Therefore, on a copay plan, if you are going to be accepted for coverage, your rate factor might end up being a bit higher than on a high deductible HSA compatible plan.
I hope all that info. helps. I am an insurance agent in the State of Colorado, and I have had a lot of experience with
people who have HBP. The above mentioned info. is based on my past experience. Underwriting guidelines vary from state to state, and state regulations regarding mandated coverage, community rating, and the ability or lack of ability to exclude pre-existing conditions from coverage all have an impact on how certain conditions are underwritten. The information I gave you above is based on Colorado underwriting guidelines. It may or may not be similar to other states.