[quote=Doooh][quote=Doooh]Explain HDHP and how to qualify.[/quote] . . . So, I think I can deduce what our lifestyle would cost minus the extra Health insurance bill and the payed of house maintenance that we’d incur. Fuel cost would drop dramatically, I want to say the work clothes bill would drop too, but I work in pants a t-shirt so there wouldn’t be a change.
What have I missed, besides the cost of a kid or two? (insert sarcasm here)[/quote]
An “HDHP” is a High-Deductible Health Plan, which is a plan that often includes preventative coverage at 100% and has a co-pay of at least $40 for a doctor visit but all other outpatient procedures and hospitalization are subject to a $5K deductible annually and up to $8K out of pocket for the patient (co-insurance) per year. If you are only 33 and otherwise healthy, your premium should be somewhere around $110 per mo for this type of (preventative and catastrophic) coverage. Your spouse, presumably a female of childbearing age, would possibly have a somewhat higher premium, even if healthy. HDHP’s are very good and reasonable-cost plans, underwritten by the nation’s biggest health insurers with the most pricing clout. For medically uninsured homeowners in CA, HDHP’s are a godsend, since the State of CA DOES NOT have to go to court to obtain a judgment to place liens for unpaid medical bills on a patient’s property. Persons availing themselves of CMS services and Medi-Cal coverage in CA typically have liens filed against them in their respective county recorders’ offices for their care. However, the vast majority of these patients do not own property and so these liens are virtually uncollectable until such time as they try to purchase property.
Doooh, after the Health Care Reform Act (HCRA), was signed into law earlier this year, one no longer has to “qualify” for individual health coverage and/or an HDHP. However, even though insurance companies must now accept every applicant, until 2014 they can still PRICE an applicant’s premiums according to risk. So yes, if you apply for individual health coverage, you will have to open up your medical records to the insurance company you are applying to plus undergo whatever other tests they require, often with their own “furnished” provider.
