Have you been searching for affordable health insurance, only to find that it doesn’t exist?  You may be looking in all the wrong places, or perhaps your expectations are too high.  People who have enjoyed the benefits of an employer-sponsored Colorado health plan may be shocked when they learn how much less coverage they will get from an individual plan.  For example, most individual plans do not include coverage for maternity; nor do they offer a comprehensive prescription drug plan.  While it’s always possible to add these on as a rider, the cost can be astronomical.

When you’re searching for health insurance plans in Colorado, it seems like so many of these plans contradict themselves.  On the one hand, they say they have the lowest monthly premiums and excellent coverage, but when the quotes come in they are often much higher than originally anticipated.  Why is this?  Well, most health insurance plans use the same underwriting process to assess the risk associated with each potential plan member.  They will look at weight, health history, orthopedic issues, recent surgeries and other factors to determine the relative risk of providing coverage.  In some cases, they will deny a person coverage because they are simply too great a risk.

If you have always had insurance through an employer or other group plan, then you might not realize how lucky you are, at least not until you start shopping for individual health insurance plans.  When you are still in a group plan, the most important determining factors in choosing a health plan are the monthly payroll deduction and finding your doctors in the provider directory.  But as you may already know, individual health insurance is much more expensive.

As a resident of Colorado, you may already be familiar with Kaiser Permanente adn some of the Colorado health plans they offer.  However, if you have worked with this company in the past as a member of a group plan, you may not be quite as satisfied with an individual plan. 

These days, it seems like everyone is confused by the recent changes to Colorado’s Health Insurance laws. Early last year a law was made that stated that children could not get denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition. This was a great change, and I know a lot of families that were thankful for this new law.  Recently, another change has been made to Colorado children’s health insurance, and that is that adult children can now be covered on their parents plan up to the age of 26. This law brought about many, many questions by parents in Colorado. The most popular questions were, “If I add my kids back on my plan, will my premiums go up?”, or, “What if one of my teenagers was already insured with CHP+?”

If you’re approaching the age of 65 or you expect to become eligible for Medicare, then chances are you have some questions about Medigap drug benefits.  Planning ahead and learning about your options will help you avoid any delays in Medicare enrollment.  As an insurance broker specializing Colorado health insurance, I work with a lot of clients who have questions about spousal Medicare benefits and how Medicare eligibility changes in the event of a divorce. A lot of these questions are referred to the attorneys at the Marrison Family Law LLC, but I can help them with Medigap enrollment. 

At first glance, it wouldn’t seem like Medicare eligibility would be a subject of discussion for family lawyers.  After all, Medicare is considered a right for most U.S. citizens who reach the age of 65, but there are some eligibility requirements that could be confusing for divorced or widowed spouses.  If you think your divorce or the death of a spouse could impact your eligibility for Medicare, then it is important to check in with the Social Security office for more information.   One way of doing this is by visiting the Medicare.gov web site and using their Medicare Eligibility Tool, an online questionnaire that will help you determine your eligibility status for Medicare.