My husband and I just got married and are looking to get health insurance. we both can not get insurance through work. we live in arizona, my husband attends ASU. We are both involved in masters programs. We are looking to start a family poss. with in the year! what is the best coverage we can get, with our student incomes? thanks in advance for any advice / guidence you can provide!What is the best health insurance for a newly married couple to get?
There is no one best company and with health insurance you get what you pay for.
Shopping for health insurance is like shopping for a new car. When you shop for a new car you have a choice between the basic low end model with no options, a fully loaded luxury car, or something in between. If you shop for the cheapest you'll get the basic low end model which may or may not have the benefits and coverage you are looking for. You should talk with an agent that works with all the major companies in your area. The agent can find the best plan for your situation and budget and can explain what you get and, more importantly, what you won't get with the plan. There is no extra charge using an agent.
ASU does have a basic health plan available, plus there are other student plans available which have basic coverage.
Very few individual plans have maternity benefits. Maternity is more of a pre-payment plan with a waiting period. No insurance company is going to pay out more for your delivery than it receives in premium. Complications of pregnancy, such as a C-section, are covered with all major plans in AZ.What is the best health insurance for a newly married couple to get?
Finding the perfect health insurance company is just like finding auto insurance. It's different for everyone. While one company might be good for your friends, a different company might be best for you. Some companies might specialize in insuring young couples or even older individuals.
The most important thing to do is your research. Make sure you fully understand all of the different types of coverage, deductibles, and co-pays. I would compare quotes online for 3-5 different companies to see who offers you the best rate and coverage. Remember, cheapest is always the best. Also, if you are planning on having a baby in the near future, make sure you ask the insurance company about that to verify that you will be covered.
Once you find a good quote online, call that insurance company and ask them any questions you might have about their policies and coverage. Health insurance is so important to have so it's essential that you are fully educated before you choose one company. The site below is really helpful because it allows you to compare quotes for all of the health insurance companies so you can find the best company for you.
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Well, it's not going to cover maternity coverage, if you're planning on getting pregnant within the first 9 months. So you'll most likely be out of pocket for the pregnancy.
Go to a local, independent agent, to look at health insurance options and plans in your area. Expect to pay about $500 a month for the both of you, if you're both healthy. Excluding maternity.
Kinda makes it worth it to find a new job.
I don't personally sell in Arizona to know what companies are available there, but try to find a broker that does what I do in your state. I represent many carriers and find the best product for the client. Insurance is regulated so the prices I offer are the same as going direct or through a large online web site. The difference is service. They can't compete at all in that arena and they cant' compete on price, so do a search for ';health insurance broker in Arizona'; (and similar searches) to find someone that does business there. AVOID sites that require your contact information before providing any information as these sites only take your name and sell it...and sometimes they sell it to reputable firms and sometimes not. The bottom line is every time you fill out those forms your information is sold 5-10 times.
Usually you can spot what one looks like because I'm sure you're going to get an answer to this post like ';I got mine through this site check it out....'; and it will look like a canned site run amuck with Google ads. Avoid those and report the answer.
Also, go to the ';About Us'; section and if they don't have names or a street address....or if they don't have an ';About Us'; section just keep searching.
Anyway good luck and take a look at my site and specificially my blog to learn about plans to avoid. I can't sell there but the information should still be of value to you.
Jeff
ps...assuming mid twenties you can get a plan with Cigna for ~$300/month that covers maternity. That was with 3 minutes of looking. The only caveat to their plan is there's a 21 month waiting period which is a long time for maternity. You definitely be able to find a plan under $500 that covers maternity. If not move to Maryland and I'll get you both covered for under $200 a month (total not each) and include maternity that's covered from day 1.
Tatum,
Congrats on getting married!
There's a very good article at eHow that discusses how to get health insurance for you and your family when you don't have a job that covers you:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2367563_keep-hea鈥?/a>
How to Get Health Insurance
Take a look at it, as it covers all the major possibilities for getting insurance, and gives some great resources you can use.
All the best.
Try this one - http://healthplans.bebto.com - I personally have their health insurance. As I know it is the cheapest one for my family in our area. My wife also used their health insurance while being pregnant.
First of all, you鈥檒l want to check into any options you may have available to you through ASU. Larger universities often have more than one health insurance option available to students 鈥?possibly even one that will provide maternity benefits. Group health insurance plans like those available through schools and employers are also helpful if you have any pre-existing conditions that might prevent you from being approved for coverage on your own.
If you have to buy a plan on your own, there are a whole host of individual and family health insurance options to choose from in Arizona. The challenge is to find one that will cover maternity care at a level you can afford. It may not be easy, since you mentioned you have a limited income. But you鈥檒l definitely want to get coverage before you become pregnant, since you鈥檒l likely be declined for coverage otherwise 鈥?or else the insurance company may consider your pregnancy a pre-existing condition, which they will not cover.
There are individual and family plans in Arizona that cover maternity care, but they tend to be among the more expensive options. Most plan that offer Maternity benefits require you to be enrolled under the plan for 12-18 months before maternity coverage is available. To get an idea of what鈥檚 out there and what will work best for your particular needs, it鈥檚 a good idea to talk with a licensed insurance agent. It doesn鈥檛 cost anything extra to work through an agent. You can also check out your options online through eHeatlhInsurance.com, where I work. Through our website you can compare plan details to see which ones cover maternity care, and you can talk with one of our licensed agents at 1-800-977-8860.
Finally, if you鈥檙e not able to obtain coverage for maternity benefits before you become pregnant, you may have a couple of state programs that can help with maternity costs in AZ. For example, take a look at the website for Baby Arizona, a government program for pregnant women without coverage. The website is www.babyarizona.gov. Their phone number is 1-800-833-4642.
Hope that helps - good luck!
-Amir M, licensed agent
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