Family Health Insurance Options
Q: I have my family insured on my group health insurance policy. The entire family, which includes my wife and 4 kids, has been on my policy for 7 years with Blue Cross Blue Shield. My employer has always paid most of the premium for my family at 80% and I pay the balance of 20% out of my paycheck. My company pays all of my insurance since I am the primary applicant. It has been great, but that is changing. We have received notice that Blue Cross Blue Shield is raising the cost of our group health insurance effective next month and to make matters worse, my employer will no longer be paying for dependent coverage for my family. I have been told that to continue to provide my family health insurance it will cost me $832 per month. I can’t afford that and will need to cancel their coverage. If I cancel their coverage, will they be able to go on COBRA.
A: No, they will not be eligible for COBRA if you voluntarily cancel your family from your group health plan. Even if they were, it would not save you money. You would actually be responsible for paying the full $832, plus a 2% administration fee.
However, you do have options. You may consider looking into a private individual health insurance policy. There are many insurance companies that offer this type of coverage, and Blue Cross Blue Shield is one of them. The first thing to do is contact BCBS and ask them about their “individual” health insurance products and get a quote for your family. The word “individual” health insurance is confusing and makes it seem like you can only get this type of coverage for one person but it does include options for covering an entire family or just your wife and children. A policy that includes just your wife and children would be called a “subscriber and children” policy. Most insurance companies have a special rate for this situation, regardless of the number of children. Since your employer is paying 100% of your premium, you will want to stay on your group health plan.
Now keep in mind that a private family health insurance policy requires an application and a review of the health status of each family member. If any of your family members have a pre-existing medical condition, you may need to keep that family member on your group health insurance plan in order to maintain their continued coverage because most insurance companies have waiting periods for pre-existing conditions. Since you do not want to have a lapse of coverage for any member of your family, it is imperative that you begin applying for family health insurance with various insurance companies as soon as possible. The process can take several weeks, especially if the insurance company requests medical records for any of your family members.
Thank you for your detailed reply. This is very helpful. My daughter is the only one in the family that has a pre-existing medical condition. She has asthma and is also being treated for ADHD. How much would it cost me to keep her on my policy and put the other family members on private insurance?
Comment by Geoff — August 8, 2007 @ 2:26 pm
Your employer should be able to provide you with the cost of keeping only one child on your group health plan. You will need to add the cost of insuring your daughter under your policy to the total cost of the family health insurance plan for your wife and other 3 children. Since you will have many plan options to choose from on an individual health plan, you should not have a problem finding a policy that meets your budget and still provides your family with adequate protection in the event of an illness or injury.
Comment by Site Advisor — August 8, 2007 @ 2:29 pm
My husband retired 2 years ago and at first we got to keep his insurance at $700 amonth. Then we went to a union Brand X for $770 a month. I applied to Mega Life and found out quickly thaat it was a bad deal and got all my money back. Then I applied to Blue Cross ansd Blue Shield. I went to the chiropractor 10 times last year for adjustments from a fall on ice and they were going to put a permanent rider for my back . I also have Gerd but control it with diet and over the counter meds and they were going to put a permanent rider on that. We were going to pay about $650 a month for insurance that I could not use. WHAT’s the point!! Bring on Hilary and a make sence Health care plan
Comment by Dorothy — February 25, 2008 @ 7:21 pm