Six short questions about health insurance?
Question:
(a) can my work fire me or lay me off?
(b) if so, can the insurance plan drop me and cut off benefits?
(c) if so, I know there is COBRA to last me a few months... but then what? Does the government help out or do I just go completely broke taking care of myself?
(d) what is the government's definition of "broke enough to be covered by Medicaid"?
(e) if I were on an individual plan, the insurance company would have to continue covering me so long as I continued paying, right?
(f) if so, doesn't that mean I'm better off with an individual plan than a business health plan (assuming similar benefits and rates)?
Answer:
i worked insurance for over a year and i learned alot. Diffrent inusrance companies handle things diffrently. If you can't preform your duties at work why can't you? If it's work related then the compnay you work for may help but if it's not work related more then likly the will fire you. Insurance with big companies generally don't drop induvidual employees so you wouldn't have to worry about getting drop but if you get fired then you would loose the benifits. If you are self employed then the insurance company can drop you or cut off the benefits. COBRA is an extension to your insurance for the plan at where you work. But if your self employed generally COBRA doens't apply for you because you are already pay full price for you policy. As for Medicaid and Medicare. Depends on what is wrong with you and the states laws. Each state is diffrent. Some states cover you better and others may let you take from your social security depending on what the issue is. If you go individual think of car insurance. If you are sick alot they can raise your prices and it will cost more like, auto insurance, you get a ticket or accident your premium go up. But as long as you keep paying then they will keep covering you unless it's a major illness like AIDS or some cancers then they won't want to cover you at all. Insurance is a gamble. You maybe okay with out or it maybe a big help along the way. It just depends on your health. Also alot of insurance have maxs that only cover so much like say to $10,000 a year to one million life time. Life time would be if you die or reach the million mark. Me personally i would go with work's health plan. It's alot less hassle on you because then your work has to deal with loose ends and most details that will make you think you have to take a class to understand what they are talking about. I wish you the best.
(a) can my work fire me or lay me off? This depends on the size of the company. You are protected under FMLA up to a certain amount of time if the company has 50 or more employees. It also depends on whether or not your injury/illness is work-related. If it is work related, your job will be protected for a period time determined by the extent of your illness/injury.
(b) if so, can the insurance plan drop me and cut off benefits?
You should be offered COBRA so you can keep the insurance for a specified period of time.
(c) if so, I know there is COBRA to last me a few months... but then what? Does the government help out or do I just go completely broke taking care of myself? Your income status will determine the financial assistance that may be available to you. If your illness/injury has caused permanent disability, you could consider trying to get Medicare.
(d) what is the government's definition of "broke enough to be covered by Medicaid"? That depends on the income requirement in your state.
(e) if I were on an individual plan, the insurance company would have to continue covering me so long as I continued paying, right? Yes.
(f) if so, doesn't that mean I'm better off with an individual plan than a business health plan (assuming similar benefits and rates)? If you don't mind paying the premium out of your pocket, it would seem to be a better deal for you.
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