Insurance Companies

I’m looking for a health insurance company to cover me while I live in Canada. I’ve been living here too long to get travelers insurance and don’t qualify for OHIP- so this also restricts the companies I can go through. All the info is too confusing. Thanks.

Some insurance companies to try…

Pacific Blue Cross (BC)

http://www.pbchbs.com/Corp/Default.aspx

Blue Cross

http://www.bluecross.ca/

Manulife

http://www.manulife.ca/canada/canada1.nsf/public/homepage

Good luck

Is it based on the time of diagnosis or the time the condition was likely to have originated? For example, what if I take out health insurance and a week later I go to the doctor and get diagnosed with cancer? I didn’t know about it beforehand but the insurance company says the lump must have taken months to develop? What’s the outcome?

A pre-existing condition is a health condition that existed before the policy was purchased. Generally, for both group and individual insurance plans, if you have seen a physician within the previous 12 months (this period may vary in different plans) for a health condition, that particular condition will not be covered, either permanently or for a specified waiting period (usually six months to two years), or you may be refused coverage or charged a higher premium for the coverage. The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) points out that cancer survivors have a pre-existing condition from the time of diagnosis through the remainder of their life, since a cancer survivor usually needs to see a physician at least once a year for a checkup.

There is no law forcing you to buy health insurance.

You can pay cash for your treatment then see for yourself why health insurance is so expensive.

Health insurance companies are businesses not a public service like so many Liberals seem to think.
fitchburgposse: Thats what hospitals charge not the insurance companies.
Wounded Duck: Health insurance companies work to LOWER costs. They demand lower priced services from medical providers an get it. They have no incentive to have higher costs because thay are the ones paying for it.

Because it is always easier to blame a faceless corporation than to take responsibility for yourself.

While thinking about the idea of an altruistic, fair "public option" for health insurance, I started trying to figure out why something like it doesn’t already exist. (Or maybe it does?)

The assumption seems to be that health insurance companies are causing problems through systematic greed, and the public option would help keep them honest. But, if this is the case, why isn’t there an organization doing this already? Why don’t the "good," people, such as the ones that take less-pay than they could in other sectors to run major charitable organizations, start a "good" health insurance company that doesn’t do any of the bad things that the other insurance companies do. If such an organization were to exist, it seems that everyone would switch to it, and even the most greedy of insurance companies would have to become like it in order to compete.

There are obviously enough qualified and caring people out there to make such an organization happen without any government involvement. So why don’t such organizations exist?

I have a few ideas, but they don’t explain the whole story. Maybe the fact that people don’t usually shop around for health insurance because it’s chosen by their employers prevents new “good” insurance companies from gaining the market share required to make the “bad“ ones change? Maybe health insurance companies are already as good as they can be, despite a few heartless employees, and the primary problems in health care come from somewhere else? Maybe protectionist legal policies prevent altruistic organizations from freely forming?

Any thoughts?

Insurance companies are not the bad guys!

Or is that that there are certain companies for certain cities/state?

How much does an adult have to pay averagely for health insurance?

Some plans like Aetna and United Healthcare are nationwide. Blue Cross Blue Shield has variations in all 50 states. Some plans are regional or state-specific. I don’t know of any that go as specific as city.

As far as an average price – impossible to answer accurately. There’s too many factors in determining price – such as type of coverage, location, and business or individual, and if the employer picks up part of or all of the tab. I’m going to guess, based on my experience, that a single adult pays about $500-$1000 a month. My plan is $450 a month for just me. My parents pay about $700 a month for just the two of them. I know someone who pays $3500 a month for their family of six.

Or is it the policy of the health insurance companies themselves?

Federal regulations and state law forbid selling health insurance across state lines. An agent and a company must be licensed with each state they do business in and each policy must comply with and be approved by the state insurance commissioner.

It’s simple economics people, if health insurance companies make even more money they will become better at saving rich people’s lives.
Health care reform should involve forcing everybody to buy from private companies at exorbitant costs, so eventually those private insurers out of the goodness of their heart will invest money into medical technology that will give us better care…..if you’re wealthy of course. And if you’re not wealthy God doesn’t love you anyway and then it’s in your best interests to die. It’s a win -win situation for everybody.
God Bless.

That sums it up for me.

I am curious about peoples experience in dealing with health insurance companies good and bad. Please tell me.

If you have a trustworthy company, you should have a relatively good experience. However, you have to watch out for the fact that some companies aren’t as trustworthy as other. Then also, you have to figure out what type of plan you are going with. If you have a PPO with a quality insurer, or an HMO with a quality insurer, you should have relatively good experience. However, you should realize that PPOs and HMOs work differently.

Also, realize that coverage for certain things may be limited or excluded by certain plans. (I am waiting to see if certain tests that were ordered by my doctor will be covered. If not, I will have to pay as much as $3000 for them. All I know so far, is that certain parts of the tests will not be paid because they are excluded. They won’t tell me until they have the actual bill if the rest will be or not. I have a very reputable insurer, but this still happens. It is just one of those limitations.)

Research any company that you are considering. Also, ask what experience other people have had with any particular company. I can tell you from experience, that a certain company associated with a particular color and another company known for its "principles" are both reliable companies. Another company known for its tractors is fairly well respected.

The "loss payout ratio" for health insurance companies is less than 75 cents for each dollar in premiums with the rest going for administrative costs and profits. How do they manage to keep their profits so high? Why hasn’t the market forced insurance companies to compete with each other and lower premiums?
John J S: You’re thinking of life insurers (who must have a reserve), not health insurers.
Enzyte: Where’d you make up your statistic from?

Long time no see

Insurance companies — internationally operate on the same basic criminal scheme

To us a person it is criminal — to the law — not so much –

In order to take on an insurance company — you have to make a statement of claim — now that goes before several levels of court no matter the nation — the names change but in reality the beuarcacy does not

As a trick — any settlement — no matter how stretched out it is — is not part of the official records of the court –because settlements are made to keep something out of the court

The insurance company uses this as a statistical racket —- 100 cases brought before the courts (statement of claim) resulted in 2 judgments against the company — it therefore appears they won the other 98 cases which is no where near true

An insurance company only allows cases to get to court if it believes it will win — the others are settled — leaving a record of claim but no record of victory or loss — the insurance company does not lie — it merely misinforms and allows you to believe that which is false — legal but criminal in the eyes of the peoples

By offering settlement the stats are lost — the dictates of the company of non disclosure mean that no one in the future may benefit from the statement of claim made — The insurance company uses this to produce a void in the stats which it allows the public to fill in

Most cases end up being proven as fraudulant claims against the company and thus it is we need to raise our rates — Hmmm sure — except that — of the 100 cases only 2 were allowed to go to court and of that 2 only one was proven fraud — but that means the stats show — 50 % of all concluded cases were fraudulant claims

None of that has anything to do with monetary intake vs out go — but this justification of raised rates is often used and none of the uninformed public questions it

Lets take into account what it is an insurance company does

It is an odd taker — similar to the house in a casino it plays the odds — and it only plays when the odds are in its favor

It also argues aggressively all claims backed up by multi million dollar lawyers who play the odds

If you are simply old they will drag it out knowing the stats say you will likely die — an estate case is 1/2 in value of a living person — they view that in and of itself as a win

A % will simply go away if dragged out long enough — another win

The list of dirty tricks used is endless

You are dealing with a rich — powerful — loan shark — playing the odds

Insurance is a protection racket

The sicker you are the less time you have — the more they drag it out the higher the % of you kicking the bucket — a statistical win

Drag it out for 4 months and half the claims for kidney failure will die — drag it out for 6 months and 90 % will die — meaning no claim at all

Criminal in the eyes of the public — legal in the eyes of the state — thus the lies the media controlled coverage and the bent stats

Why were health insurance companies exempt from anti-trust legislation?
A monopoly is formed when one or more companies combine to form one company that can fix prices due to lack of competition. This is why I said "companies", isn’t it obvious?

So there are 2100 insurance companies? Then how come in my state I can only choose from 2 providers?
That should read "two or more" of course.

They are not allowed to form monopolies.

The McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945 was passed in response to the Supreme Court case United States v. South-Eastern Underwriters.

The act allows state’s regulate the insurance industry without federal government interference.

Prior to the Supreme Court ruling, issuing policies was not considered commerce that could be regulated by Congress under the Interstate COmmerce Clause. McCarran-Ferguson returned the primary task of regulation to the states.

It doesn’t mean that the federal government can not regulate the industry, it just means the anti-trust laws don’t apply.