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Florida Health Insurance 1. Use a plan with a higher deductible - The chance that you will meet your deductible is slim. If you can save $800 a year on health insurance by increasing your deductible by $1,000, you would have to be crazy not to do so. After 15 months on the plan, you have already made back the $1,000. Always ask how much the next highest deductible is and do the math. We will do the math for you when you call us - 800-272-0512 2. Physician co-pays sound great. But, they cost you a lot of money each month to have them and don't save you as much as you think. - If you stay within the PPO network, you are entitled to the discounted rate for office visits. A physician visit might be $50 to $60. Eliminating the office co-pay feature could save you $500 to $800 a year. You would need to have 20 to 30 office visits a year to make the co-pay feature worthwhile. It sounds better than it is. You will soon realize that paying for the privilege of seeing the doctor for $35 is no big deal. 3. Use a plan with a prescription deductible - Florida health insurance carriers are going to really soak you for brand name prescription coverage. Most generics are fairly inexpensive and by having a deductible for brand name or non-generic prescriptions, you will save a lot of money on premiums. Most plans have a co-pay for generics and impose a calendar year deductible for brand name drugs. If you try to remove the brand name deductible, the premiums shoot up. As is the case with the physician co-pays, the insurance carrier wins every time. 4. When possible, stay away from association plans - These plans are not native Florida health insurance plans and permit the insurance company to play games with your premium increases each year. Over time, you will pay a lot more. Ask the agent if it is an association plan and what state governs the plan. The answers you want to hear are "no" and "Florida". 5. Work with an agent that offers plans from many different companies - Captive agents who sell for one company cannot offer you the selection you need. Be careful, a lot of them will tell you that they have many different plans, but in truth, they are from the same company. Most of these characters have plans with huge association or signup fees (more than $50). Call us for a quote from multiple companies. The wrong expectations There are two types of Florida health insurance plans: 1. The first type of plan is something I call the "Fantasy" plan. This is usually something that you dreamed up where you go to the doctor for ten dollars and there is a $100 deductible. It is very low cost and all of your pre-existing conditions are covered from day one. My personal fantasy plan includes a primary care physician who is also the current month's Playboy centerfold. But, we don't need to go into that. 2. Then there are the plans that actually exist. These plans look nothing like your fantasy plan (and certainly nothing like mine). These are generally PPO plans with deductible ranging from $1000 to $5000 and reasonable co-pays. Pre-existing conditions may or may not be covered depending on whether you have had continuous coverage or not. In the past most of you have either had group health insurance plans or no coverage at all. Although, many consumers are starting to understand that Florida health insurance can be very expensive, they are still hold unrealistic expectations of low deductibles and having everything covered with just a small co-pay. If you have just won the lottery or have significant wealth you can purchase plans that will do just that, and at the same time you can adopt me. However, for the rest of us, we need to set priorities and budgets when shopping for a Florida health insurance plan. If you have been declined for Florida health insurance If you have been declined for Florida health insurance due to medical reasons, do not give up hope. There are guaranteed issue health insurance plans that you can afford. Talk with me about these and the PCIP plan. Florida Health Insurance - Setting Priorities Your first priority should be to cover major illnesses and accidents.
If necessary, most of you can probably pay for a doctor visit or prescription. But, it is the hospital
bills or prolonged illnesses that push us over the top. You need to first focus on covering the "big
stuff". Ask the agent: 2. Are there per illness limitations? Do not accept any. Stay away from plans that have daily limits on room or surgical fees. This is very important. You never, ever want to accept a plan that offers to pay a certain fixed amount for hospitalization. Unless, you cannot medically qualify for anything else. The smart money knows that you can pay for your own prescriptions and doctor visits for less money than it costs to insure for these items. Look very carefully at the cost of adding on these extra benefits. If it costs you $1,000 year more in health insurance so you can go to the doctor twice for only $35 and fill your prescription for $20 instead of $80, was it worth it? How much did you save? Did you spend $1,000 to save $200? Don't try to beat the insurance company at their own game. Over time you will come out ahead by taking on some of the costs of your own health care. TIP: Layout the costs of the lowest, middle and highest deductibles. Then write down the annual cost of each plan and the difference between them. Only then, will you be able to clearly see what the lower deductible or co-pays are costing you. Do I really need health
insurance? We do have guaranteed issue plans for individuals and small groups. You do not have to wait until August for a group of one. Call 800-272-0512 for details. Discount Cards A discount cards is not health insurance. Don't be fooled by an aggressive salesperson who tells you that all you need is their card and you can dispense with health insurance. You will still be hit with the bills and the doctors and hospitals will be asking for payment in advance. Many physicians will not even see a patient without actual insurance. Florida Dental Plans We can offer a variety of different dental plans in Florida. We even have a real Florida PPO dental plan with a vision coverage option. Prescription Plans I am not a big fan of prescription plans. But, in some instances they
can save you money. Try these guys. They have a fairly good plan with a lot of drugs on their list and
you can use the local pharmacy. Discount Prescription Plans - Click Here. 1. Find an good agent - you do not want to deal with anyone who represents just one company. The plans that require the agent to be captive (represent only their plan) are not generally the best plans available. Make sure they can offer you a variety of health insurance plans from different carriers that sell insurance in Florida. Do not pay someone $100+ for an association fee or signup fee. There is no substitute for common sense. When an agent plants themselves in your living room, shows you a slick brochure, and starts to talk about the roadside assistance plan and all the other discounts, the alarm bells should be going off in your head. These smooth talkers are trained to leave with your signature and a check and they represent only one carrier - which is naturally the best. But watch out when you tell them you want time to think about it. They can get very nasty. 2. Be realistic. If you try to replicate a plan you had when working for BigBucks Industries you are going to be very disappointed. Health insurance in Florida is expensive and you don't want to over-insure. It was real nice to have $5 copays and $100 deductibles. Those days are gone, so get over it. 3. Don't lie. If you leave important information off of your
application they will catch you. In Florida it is a class 3 felony. If an agent suggests it, you should
throw them out or hang up. |
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