[TriLUG] OT: NC insurance options

[Brian Phelps]

I don't know if UHC has changed or not but our office had many problems
with UHC. Basically you pay full price then UHC refunds you.  My infant son
had breathing problems and we had a VERY hard time getting much of our
money for what coverage was in our plan.  I felt like I had to be a lawyer,
accountant, and even then we had collections agencies after us from several
specialists.

Once that dollar has left your wallet you must justify getting it back from
UHC and they will reject it over and over.  NOT FUN!  Not practical.

We switched to BCBS and it _was_ better than UHC for a while until the
Obama healthcare passed.  Then deductibles more than doubled and coverage
shrunk while premiums went up over 15%.  Just stating the facts here.  Read
into politics what you will.

Basically we were buying in a large group in a kind of co-op and that
apparently dissapeared when the new Obama legislation passed.  Don't know
why this became "illegal" but here we are with shitty coverage and higher
premiums and deductables.

If anyone does have an alternative for us small businesses please chime in!

On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 6:07 PM, Mitchell Amiano <mamiano at nc.rr.com> wrote:

> Even with BCBSNC there are different options.
> Blue Advantage HSA is pretty high deductible but a lower cost alternative
> to a more traditional plan.
> There is also United Health Care, which servers small businesses and
> individuals (http://www.uhc.com/).
> Check out the Triangle chapter of the Health Underwriters association for
> potentially other resources (http://www.nctahu.org/).
>
> I've heard of some church-based plans, but cannot think of the name; I
> think they tend to be more like cooperatives than insurance.
> Another thing to look at is clinics. Raleigh has one:
> http://www.alliancemedicalministry.org/primary-care/
> I've heard that cash-basis offices have fairer pricing schedules, but
> there are few of them around and hard to get into.
>
> Regards,
> Mitch
>
> Sent from my living room
>
> On Feb 24, 2012, at 12:22 PM, Patwbrewer wrote:
>
> > I think there are a few self employed folks in Trilug. So I wanted to
> ask if there are an options I should consider other than BCBS in NC for
> health insurance when doing contract/project work.
> >
> > Sent from my iPad
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> Mitchell Amiano
> (919) 410-8008
> mamiano at nc.rr.com
>
>
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