[passmaster16]

As I'm waiting to hear back from the interview I went for 2 weeks ago, I was thinking I should pick up some kind of major medical insurance just in case I should end up in the hospital. I'm a contract employee and so I don't have benefits. My pay is on the low side so I still live at home. I turned 23 in June so I'm off my parents insurance. I haven't had any coverage since then and am looking for options. My contract agency is offering a plan for $65 a week which wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't so underpaid. Right now I just can't swing that much. I live in Pennsylvania so I'm not sure if that makes much difference. I'm not very knowledgeable in the insurance area...perhaps somebody has a suggestion of where to look.

[york28]

Call your rental insurance agency if you have one. I had a State Farm policy on the apartment I was living in, and I took a semester off school. My prior insurance only covered full-time students. I ended up getting a temporary policy through State Farm from Fortis Health. I remember it being about $80 a month for a max of 6 months.

Good luck. It's going to be a pain finding some I'm afriad since all coverage companies that I've dealt with are big on "continuity of coverage".

It might help to do the $65 a week thing temporarily so you have current coverage.

[Partisan01]

Originally posted by passmaster16:
As I'm waiting to hear back from the interview I went for 2 weeks ago, I was thinking I should pick up some kind of major medical insurance just in case I should end up in the hospital. I'm a contract employee and so I don't have benefits. My pay is on the low side so I still live at home. I turned 23 in June so I'm off my parents insurance. I haven't had any coverage since then and am looking for options. My contract agency is offering a plan for $65 a week which wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't so underpaid. Right now I just can't swing that much. I live in Pennsylvania so I'm not sure if that makes much difference. I'm not very knowledgeable in the insurance area...perhaps somebody has a suggestion of where to look.

Where in pittsburgh are you? I live in Cincinnati now, but I'll be moving to Pgh in about a month. I lived in the north hills this past summer, and I'll probably relocate to that area again.

[passmaster16]

Originally posted by Partisan01:
Where in pittsburgh are you? I live in Cincinnati now, but I'll be moving to Pgh in about a month. I lived in the north hills this past summer, and I'll probably relocate to that area again.

I live about 50 minutes south of pittsburgh. I work in west mifflin, which is about 20 mins south of the city. I know where North Hills is at but I have only been there once. What brings you to the pgh area?

[Partisan01]

Originally posted by passmaster16:
I live about 50 minutes south of pittsburgh. I work in west mifflin, which is about 20 mins south of the city. I know where North Hills is at but I have only been there once. What brings you to the pgh area?

I'll be working with a company doing network security stuff. Mostly development work. I really like the area, I'm originally from Cleveland, and Pittsburgh I would say is an improvment. Just wish apartments didn't cost as much.....

[malson]

Originally posted by passmaster16:
As I'm waiting to hear back from the interview I went for 2 weeks ago, I was thinking I should pick up some kind of major medical insurance just in case I should end up in the hospital. I'm a contract employee and so I don't have benefits. My pay is on the low side so I still live at home. I turned 23 in June so I'm off my parents insurance. I haven't had any coverage since then and am looking for options. My contract agency is offering a plan for $65 a week which wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't so underpaid. Right now I just can't swing that much. I live in Pennsylvania so I'm not sure if that makes much difference. I'm not very knowledgeable in the insurance area...perhaps somebody has a suggestion of where to look.

I realize that money is tight but $65/week is nothing compared to what your bills would be if you did get hurt and you had no insurance. I work for one of the largest healthcare insurers in the country doing customer service. A simple visit to the ER can run $2500-4000 pretty easy. Inpatient for a day or 2 starts around $7-10k. Can you afford that? Can you afford to take that chance? Just something to think about.

[Krusty]

Try fortishealth.com ... depending on where you live you can get decent insurance for somewhere in the 40-50 dollar per month range if you get a $1,000 deductible.
What it doesn't cover:
Perscriptions
Dental
Pre-existing conditions

The coverage is 80/20 up to 5000 then 100% beyond 5000 (up to 2.0 million) The deductible is 1000, which means the max you should ever have to pay out-of-pocket is
1000 + (20% * 5000) = 2000. That seems high, but if you had an 80,000 problem, it would be a drop in the bucket. Its NOT a great substitute for a "real" group health plan ... but, if you're basically healthy, its a nice safety net to protect you against catastrophe without costing an arm and a leg.

Also, I seem to remember that you were interviewing for some tech job ... which I assume means you've graduated college. Many larger colleges will actually have a group health plan that alumni can join .. DEFINITELY look in to that. Even if you don't want to join it, I bet they will give you some good advice.

[The Ayatollah]

Originally posted by malson:
A simple visit to the ER can run $2500-4000 pretty easy. Inpatient for a day or 2 starts around $7-10k.

God that's shameful. There should be laws against this kind of price gouging and greedy exploitation.

[Oneota]

Originally posted by The Ayatollah:
God that's shameful. There should be laws against this kind of price gouging and greedy exploitation.

If the insurance and drug companies weren't in bed with our politicians, there would be.