I am a public employee. I will get a pension from the Ohio School Employees Retirement System and my monthly premium will be $260 per month. Can I do any better than that if I were to buy my own?
2007-03-04 11:06:07 · 6 answers · asked by 5o_fanatic 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Careers & Employment
I don't think so about 300 is the best I've seen
2007-03-04 11:13:47 · answer #1 · answered by Larry m 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You leave out some important factors that would help in answering your question.
Is the $260/month what you would be paying for yourself only, or for you and your spouse/family? And is the organization you're retiring from making any contributions toward the overall premium (meaning that the $260/month is only PART of the total picture?)
Also, do you, or anyone covered by the plan, have any pre-existing conditions?
The last question is critical. Because if you do, you may not even qualify for individual health insurance (except that under HIPAA they couldn't decline you as long as you had continuous coverage.... Still, you can be assured that they'd make you pay through the nose for it.)
Frankly, I think you've done quite well for yourself at $260/month (and it's probably a good plan, too.) By comparison, I pay $450/month and I'm 36. That's through a group. I sell health insurance for a living and I couldn't afford to buy individual health insurance for myself. (Getting comparable coverage on an individual plan would have run me almost $800/month.)
Most people are shocked to find out what health insurance actually costs. I suspect that your $260/month premium is being subsidized by your former employer. Frankly, I've never heard of even a group premium that low for a 53 year old.
You can, of course, get some quotes. However, you should keep in mind that once you leave the group plan, you probably won't have the option to go back. Even if you're in good health now and are able to save some money on an individual policy, they do randomly review policyholders and increase your health level rating (based on your previous claims.) If that happens, you'll wish that you'd stuck with the old group plan (as the premiums go up 10-20% with each increasing health level, up to a level 4, at which point they typically double.)
The group plans will almost always increase their premiums every year; however, they are somewhat insulated from the vast increases because they are tied to a pool of participants.
2007-03-04 19:23:46 · answer #2 · answered by ISOintelligentlife 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, odds are with 100's of health insurance companies that you will be able to beat that price. You may want to try a website that compares multiple companies at once to get you the best price. I am paying less than ½ after I did.
Go to: http://www.insureme.com/landing.aspx?Refby=616163&Type=health
Take care,
Casey
2007-03-05 10:03:23 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
My dad caluclated that it would cost over $1000/month for he and his wife to have the same quality health insurance they do now when he retires.
2007-03-04 19:14:14 · answer #4 · answered by Tiff 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes i think so i hope u do have a nic e day
2007-03-04 19:07:56 · answer #5 · answered by Player hater 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i am sure you have a computer to help you look. good luck...it is not cheap and they check your answers....no flub.
2007-03-04 19:09:45 · answer #6 · answered by Bear Naked 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋