[Insurancelady]

I am a state licensed health and life agent and I am familiar with some of the plans you've mentioned in your post. Costs can vary for premiums but so does coverage. Please be very careful to read the coverage very carefully. Make sure the deductible is per year and not per occurance, and compare deductibles and co-insurance. Sometimes they will have a deductible amount but also co insurance such as 80/20 you wil also be responsible to pay out of pocket. Find out what your total out of pocket expense would be or stop/loss amount. Make sure the network that these companies use have the doctors and hospitals that you want to use. Ask what the name of the network is and then call your doctor's and hospital's and ask do they accept it. The carrier is the name of the insurance company and the network name is used for doctor's and hospital's. Look at the exclusions and limitations. I know one major company that does not cover chemo in it's middle plan. Think the worse and make sure it would be covered because if it's not it can wipe out your finances if you were to ever get a serious illness that required treatment such as chemo. Look for other fees that may be charged to you such as additional fees per day if you are in the hospital or if you need surgery or added co-insurance per item. Compare life time caps and make sure it is PER person and not for all people covered. I would not go below 3 million a lifetime and 5 million is better per person. Be careful that there is not a yearly cap of a dollar amount a company will pay and that the amount is for the lifetime. A good agent in your state can explain these and other items to you but alot of people buy over the internet and no one explains these things to the consumer. Always compare the policy's first and then the premiums and take your time to compare before you purchase because once someone does have medical issues it is difficult to switch plans due to strict underwriting guidelines all insurance companies have today on pre-existing conditions. If a policy offers co-pays on doctors, drugs, etc. see if there are limits on them such as they may limit you to 2 doctor visits a year or you have to reach another deductible before the company pays for drugs. With so many plans and options available today it is confusing to the consumer and you want to be sure there are no surprises when you do need the coverage! Worst case scenario is to get a hospital bill and find out that your plan does not cover what you thought it did.