Factors affecting health insurance premiums..

by Guest » Fri Oct 31, 2008 06:39 am
Guest

Hi..
I'm interested to know the different factors upon which our carriers would base our health insurance rates.
BarbieL

Total Comments: 16

Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 06:47 am Post Subject:

Well ..my friend, it depends a lot on the state that you're residing in. The state norms are very much applicable on the insurance provided by our employers as well as the individual plans. Medicare and other govt. sponsored plans are also guided by a set of state laws..Each such policies would have their own premium payment structures.
Purpleheaded08

Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 07:16 am Post Subject:

Employer provided health plans would charge the same rate from all the employees. The difference in health conditions would not make a difference in premiums. Only under circumstances when an employee has a pre-existing condition, his employer may charge him more for opting an individual plan.

Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 10:41 am Post Subject:

I'm interested to know the different factors upon which our carriers would base our health insurance rates.



Obviously the most important factor is your health condition. If you are in good health and young, you're likely to get the best rates.

The health insurance, especially the privately owned policies have become very expensive over the years. Hence, there aren't many cost cutting techniques available to reduce the cost of the health policy, but good health can still fetch good rate. Therefore, it's a good incentive to maintain a good health.

Smoking is another factor that influences the health policy costs. Try to quite smoking. The smokers are likely to pay more both for the health and life insurance policies. And that's not all the auto and home insurance providers are also taking the smoking habit of the policy holder into account and are charging more as premium.

Hope this helps :)

~Jeremy

Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 10:46 am Post Subject:

Hey, another deciding factor is the amount of deductible and out-of-pocket that you have committed to pay at the time of need. Higher deductible means lower premium. However, that may cause a problem to you since you'll be required to pay the amount everytime you turn a claim to the insurer. Hence, you need to ascertain your ability to pay before deciding for the deductible amount.

Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 05:27 pm Post Subject:

An important consideration necessary to properly answer this post would be whether the OP is wanting information on individual or group plans. There is a whole world of difference between them, so it would be great if the OP could be a bit more specific.

Once again, thank you!

InsTeacher 8)

Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 03:26 am Post Subject: insurance

At a place where I use to work, they had that Supplementary In surance thing. ...disability, etc. A friend of mine couldn't get it because she had a Pre-existing condition...she has Lupis. She's such a sweet woman, but, no one will 'touch her.' Her doctor is very understanding that she can't get a 'regualr' medical insurance ( just can't afford it). So, her doctor lets her make payments.

Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 06:23 am Post Subject:

general consideration for the premiums are

1 ageeee
2 location
3 previous medical history
4 job environment
5 term
6 insurance cover required.

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 02:49 am Post Subject: insurance

Ok...got a question ( for whoever can answer) I have a relative who DID have Medical Insurance at one time ( I don't know through who, however.) He has a drinking problem, and he's been in and out of the Emergency Room/Hospital with "alcohol related" issues. He is Diabetic and drinks alot of 'hard' liquor. From what I understand, his Health Insurance dropped him, because of being "too much of a risk." I guess, he's trying to find other Health Insurance, but, has been turned down because of this. Just kind of curious what else he CAN do to try to get Health Insurance again.

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 05:05 am Post Subject:

SD, the solution lies with him….try and quit alcohol use. There are lots of helping groups available to help people to quit their alcohol habits. The health insurance carrier was quite right by not providing him with the coverage. If he can get rid of this evil habit of drinking, he may manage to get the coverage again.

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 08:32 pm Post Subject: Premiums based on....

Also, if it is a group plan, you would have to know if it is a fully insured plan (as in the carrier is insuring the plan) or if it is a self insured plan. (The employer collects the premiums and pays claims). On a self insured plan you are usually paying a TPA to administer or adjudicate the claims. If this is the case than premiums are directly based on the amount of claims your group has had in the past 3-5 years and the national or regional trends for cost of health care. (Usually around 6 - 9 percent but they are looking at double digit increases for 2009) Hence the need for so called, "Wellness Plans". the basic concept is that premiums are based on covering the extrapolated risk of a group.(ie. how much will it cost to pay for all claims, administration, and consultation for any given year)

Add your comment

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.