Insurance Question

Hello :) The state does have a plan called family care. They cover the family for a small cost or no cost montly.
here is the link
http://www.familycareillinois.com/

Hello M.

Good luck! We were in the same boat last year. My son was diagnosed with ADHD and possible bipolar, then my husband lost his job. We never did get insurance for him and had a terrible year! When my husband got a job just a couple of months ago, his insurance did cover our son, but we just asked the doctor to put it down as 'new patient' and he is back on his meds and doing well!

God's Blessings to you and your family
D.

Local hospitals w/specialty clinics (outpatient clinics) sometime offer sliding pay scales according to patients ability to pay. Ask about courtesy samples of medications. Your family mayhave to provide proof of income and other personal info.
Pharmacy companies often advertise assistance for people who cannot afford medications manufactured by them and offer free samples. (Insulin needles if needed, may have different restrictions)>

Try All Kids. http://www.allkidscovered.com/
It's an insurance for kids and families in the state of IL. Depending on your income or no income it may be free or just a minimal co-pay, again all depends on your income and family size. It covers kids and parents living with the kids. We have All kids and it's great. All the kids' shots and visits are free. I love it. The only thing is that you have to go to doctors that accept All Kids insurance and their website isn't exactly up to date. They give you names of doctors that in their system says should accept the insurance, but they really don't. You might have to call the doctor's first and make sure they do still accept it. In the end it's all worth it since it's free or very low cost to you.

It does take a while for them to approve you. I applied in November when I quit my job after my baby was born and lost my insurance. I got approved by All Kids starting March 07. When you apply you can also apply for prior coverage. In my case they approved the prior coverage and paid for my hospital stay back in September when my daughter was born as well as all the medical expences during the time when my application was being processed. It was nice, since the plan I had back then through my job did not cover 100% of the expences. I thought I would have to pay a percentage, but All Kids paid for it so in the end I didn't pay anything for the delivery.

Sorry to hear job loss for your hubby..you can try the state see if they can cover you.
For your hubby, send me a side note, my hubby works for citi group and they need people for mortgages.

Regards
V.

FamilyCare and All Kids should work for you. These are state programs and the premiums are income related - very reasonable. They look at your current monthly income which might be close to zero temporarily. this would allow you all to get insurance until your husband gets a new job. Check out www.allkids.com or call
FamilyCare Hotline 1-866-ALL-KIDS (1-866-255-5437)
TTY: 1-877-204-1012

These programs are there for you when you need them - your tax dollars pays for them just like we all pay FICA for Medicare when we turn 65.

There is no income cap on All Kids and FamilyCare is available for many. In fact, the state is currently working to raise the income threshold for FamilyCare. If you think that is a good idea, you should contact your state represenatives to say so. If successful, FamilyCare will be available for uninsured parents with income up to $82k for a family of 4.

we had to do the cobra thing too... if you have no coverage for even a day the new insurance company will consider you w/o coverage and denie pre existing coverage. I think. You may want to look at any organizations National Association of blah blah blha, if you are in any, or if either of you went to college there may be a group type of insurance through them. But finding insurance on your own will very very likely be higher than cobra if you have a higher risk medical issue.

I am so sorry to hear and will keep my fingers crossed. I was going to recommend finding out coverage options through the state. And then maybe doing a combo of state/cobra. Individual plans will probably be just as expensive if not more than Cobra but you would just need to do your research.

Hi M..
We just went through something similar, sort of. My husbands insurance SUCKS and I refused to pay $800 a month for a family of 4 with a $7000 deductible.

We ended up getting approved through Blue Cross Blue Shield. I have an agent who has been unbelievably helpful. Not sure if bcbs is an option for you, but it might not hurt to get in touch with our agent to ask him some questions. If bcbs can't help you, he may be able to lead you in the right direction.

If you are interested, I can give you his information.
B.

You may be able to sign the kids up for KidCare through the state and then the insurance for you and your husband would be much cheaper. My husband lost his job a few years ago and it took about 7 months before he found another one. During that time we had the kids on kidcare which was great. The only drawbacks were that they had a very limited selection of Dr's and going to an appt was like waiting at the DMV. But my kids were covered which was the most important thing to me. My husband and I got BCBS it was much less than Cobra.

I M. ~ I used to work for American Family Insurance and about a year ago, they introduced a high deductible health plan, which I do believe covered diabetes. The monthly rates were less than cobra - not as cheap as an employer provided plan, but doable. You might want to contact an agent in your area for more information. They even covered maternity, which most individual plans don't. Hope this helps.

I assume you live in Illinois. Get on the state website sign up for all kids and family insurance you have no choice. Your husband has paid into the system here so use what is out there. There is no shame in taking advantage of the medical system. I would also ask for aid from every place you can foundations, manufactures, charities. Try Catholic Charities, Love Inc. I know having the test strip, and multiple medications is expensive. Do not be ashamed, ask for help.

My co-worker just informed me that his wife got a new job and has been working there the required time to be hired. They just informed her last night at work that the insurance does not start for a year. She will only work nights and a few other choice new things. They habded her the new employee hand book rewritten in January stating oh you have an old copy. So everyone seems to be getting hurt out their in the employment and insurance world.

Contact the state. Mothers are automatically covered if they have any kids under the age of 5. I know this because when my husband lost his job a few years ago, we did this and the state covered our family with practically no questions asked. Get all of your paperwork in order. You'll have to show that your husband has lost his job...what his severance pay is, how much the COBRA will be, proof of identification (copies of drivers licenses and social security cards...for the kids you need birth certificates and social security cards). Financial information...all that stuff.

I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Hi,
I would also suggest the state to help until you are able to find a new job/insurance.

There is a company here in IL, the American Worker (www.theamericanworker.com). I'm not sure that it's "insurance" but probably more of a supplement type. I think basically, it offers you a discount on services, etc. Probably not the best option, but maybe it could help.

Best of luck,
M.

Best of luck,
M.

i know the State of Illinois has some kind of coverage that you can get if you can't get insured elsewhere. I think it is called CHIP. It is on their website. If you can't find it, let me know and I will find it and email a link. My email is ____@____.com

HI M.,

Unfortunately individual plans (ie, not through a business or group plan) do not cover pre-existing conditions. The grace period you have before you lose your pre-existing condition being covered with a group plan is 60 days.

I would recommend having the kids covered through Kidcare (through the state) and then seeing if you guys can maintain COBRA coverage at least just for you (if your husband doesn't have any health problems) that way you don't lose your coverage for your condition.

Feel free to email me with any questions, I am in the industry. And don't let a broker talk you into applying for an invidual plan until you know that your condition would be covered. I know for a fact that BCBS will not cover that condition on an individual plan.

I have a great insurance guy in a business group I'm in that I'm sure would help you out with anything you need. His company has been able to save us TONS of $$$ over the years and helpin us plan our policies. Let me know if you'd like his information!

M.

I know how hard it is for you to find Quality and Affordable Healthcare. Especially when you have preexisting conditions!

I work with the Nations #1 Health Benefits company in the Nations. Ameriplan. We offer affordable Dental and Medical Benefits. Our plans start at $19.95 a month and no more expensive than $59.95 per month depending on which plan you choose is right for you and your family. We cover up to 20 people under the same roof no matter what pre-existing illnesses may be present.

You can find out more information about our plans by visiting either http://smile4life.ourperfectcard.com or www.mybenefitsplus.com/abundantlife You can also call me at 888-899-4338 or email me at ____@____.com

I look forward to helping you and your family find affordable Quality Healthcare!

To your Health!

I had to look into the state plan as my husband and I have pre existing conditions that no one would cover for insurance. We went with a temporary coverage that allowed us in, though it doesn't pay for PECs. The state plan allows you to make almost $2900/mth for a family of 3 and more for a larger family and the coverage sounds better and cheaper than our insurance. We couldn't afford the cobra. If you make more money than that in a month the parents lose their insurance, but the kids remain. It's worth looking into. Check out All Kids and it is the Family Care plan. I hope that he finds a job.