NASE health insurance

[Todd Terry]

[Mick Haensler] “who are you using and what has been your experience.”

Well, I too COBRA’d for as long as I could before seeking other insurance. After that, as a single-person company I got Blue Cross / Blue Shield as an individual.

Now that we have employees, we have BC/BS as group insurance. My employees would probably mutiny if we were to change to anything else.

They’re ok, I suppose… I will probably never rave about any insurance company… but at least there’s the knowledge that Blue Cross is pretty much accepted anywhere and everywhere.

We also make supplemental policies available for accident, intensive care, and cancer coverage from AFLAC.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Ron Lindeboom]

The NASE insurance program is a good one if you qualify and pass their entry exam, etc.

We are not on it but we have heard good things about NASE.

Best regards,

Ron Lindeboom
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlindeboom
Publisher, Creative COW Magazine
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[Mick Haensler]

[Ron Lindeboom] “The NASE insurance program is a good one if you qualify and pass their entry exam, etc.”

That’s interesting, our rep made no mention of an exam at all. The only issue was some pre existing conditions that might not be covered for a year.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

[Scott Whitney]

If it’s the same group I’m familiar with, it’s underwritten by MEGA Life and Health Insurance. Unfortunately, I can’t say that my experience has been the best with this outfit. Again…I’m basing these comments solely on some of the adventures I’ve encountered. I can’t say that dealing with their customer service people has been an altogether pleasant experience. I’ve had people tell me one thing about what my plan covered, and then another agent say something totally different. I’ve also had some major difficulties trying to upgrade my plan as well. If I had more time to invest in researching another Health Insurance company, I’d do so. If you decide that it’s in your family’s best interest to go with them, I hope your service is better than what I’ve encountered.
____________________________________________

Scott Whitney
Bright Circle, Inc.
“We put the Idea in Media”
https://www.brightcircleinc.com

[Mark Landman]

I had their insurance for about 3 years. I can’t say that I’ve been impressed. After having my premiums increase over 50% in the span of 3 years (and that was without filing any claims) I decided to look elsewhere.

Mark Landman
PM Productions
Champaign, IL

[Ron Lindeboom]

Thanks for your feedback, Mark and Scott.

Kathlyn and I felt bad when we were turned down by NASE because of pre-existing conditions. Now, I don’t feel so bad reading your feedback.

Well, if any of you other readers have anything positive about the program in your experience, feel free to add your thoughts.

Best regards,

Ron Lindeboom
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlindeboom
Publisher, Creative COW Magazine
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[Christopher Wright]

I would also say stay away from NASE. I had my initally affordable rates go up three times in one year with no claims. I finally gave them the boot when I had a $5K deductible and they still wanted $450.00 a month.

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[Bob Cole]

[Christopher Wright] “I had my initally affordable rates go up three times in one year with no claims”

That seems excessive. But it seems as if it is fairly common practice for insurance companies to increase rates even for non-claimants, forcing them to reapply for a new policy, which means they have to requalify, at which point any new problem with their health can be used to justify a higher premium &/or excluded condition.

Over time, if you stay with the same policy, your insurance “tranch” (correct word??) tends to become sicker and sicker, and the premiums higher and higher. People who get sick find it impossible to get new insurance and tend to stick with the old policy, driving up premiums for all in that “tranch,” until the premiums reach absurd levels that the now sick-and-out-of-work policyholder can’t afford to pay….

… unless you’re a member of Congress or some other highly protected govt. or corporate employee.

It’s a system that will be extremely difficult to change, because the privileged people who are happy with their insurance will oppose anything that hurts them. Nor will the multi-trillion dollar insurance industry want to give up their power and profits — and the last I heard, they donate a lot more money to Congress than the uninsured and the underinsured.

Cynically yours,

Bob C

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[Tim Kolb]

I think to be clear here…the problem with the most inexpensive health insurance you can find will be that it’s the least expensive health insurance plan you can find.

(Of course this discussion has to do with the USA. Outside our borders there are citizens of other countries that have nationalized healthcare to varying degrees…)

Even reputable companies have plans that are cheap…why do they cost less? Because they give you less…it’s pretty straightforward.

The NASE stuff that has been presented to me over the years looks like a catastrophic stop-loss thing to me. If you get cancer, they have some coverage…if you want your monthly prescriptions to be aggressively discounted…probably not.

Insurance is an odds game. You can sell a policy for a lot less money of the threshold where you start to pay is higher. For most of us a 5,000 dollar deductible sounds pretty high with a 450 dollar per month premium, but if you move to an HMO with really good coverage and a small co-pay, the same customer may pay more like a thousand a month…you just shelled out 6300.00 scheduled dollars (550/month extra) to save yourself 5000.00, which may or may not have occurred if you weren’t sick much that year.

For an insurance company, most people have some prescription medications, most people have a few office visits for physicals, cholesterol checks, etc… If an insurance company covers those in a policy, the likelihood of them having to pay out is very high over any given population of people. With a 3,000 dollar or higher deductible, the insurance company doesn’t have to pay for small stuff, making they’re odds better, meaning they can lower the premiums.

Somebody has to pay one way or another… How pre-existing conditions and other things are handled is another discussion, but for low premiums, you kind of have to expect low benefit.

One thing to look seriously into in the USA is a medical savings account where you can deposit a given amount of your income and avoid income tax and only use that money to pay out and fill the gap with those high deductible policies, which often best serve as coverage for catastrophes, and use your medical savings account money for the smaller, everyday expenses.

It’s a jungle out there…no doubt about it.

TimK,
Director, Consultant
Kolb Productions,

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[Mark Nancetor]

Nice comments, Bob, but there’s far more chance that this cat will medically benefit from its high fiber diet, than we’ll ever see the American healthcare industry change.

Enjoy!