Small Business Boomers

When I “retire” from my current job (in a few years) I will no longer have health insurance. I do have a small business, so I decided to look into health insurance for myself through my business. I have lots of questions, and I know just enough to be dangerous, but I also know this is an important decision for me. So, I thought I would share with you what I find in this process.

First, someone told me to check out EHealthInsurance.com to get a quote. I first went to their small business insurance page, but they wanted me to establish a Health Savings Account before I could get any information, so I changed to the individual section. There I was able to give them a minimum amount of information about me and my location, and I was given a list of rate quotes from several companies. (You might also want to try InsureLane.com; they have some other insurance companies on their list.)

The rates depended on the level of coverage and the deductible. I’m interested in a Health Savings Account because the deductible is pre-tax money. My first question was, “Can I keep my current doctor?” I was able to search the list of doctors for each company and found my doctor under each plan (that’s a relief). I noted the different types of plans (HMO, PPO, POS, etc.).

I also noticed that the A.M. Best rating for each company was listed. A.M. Best issues independent ratings of the strength of insurance companies. Is an A (Excellent) that much better than a B++ (Good)? Anybody know?

At this point, I have a couple of companies to look at. i would like to talk with a real person at several companies to ask some questions. I’m going to get recommendations from some friends who have selected small business and individual health insurance in the past few years, and I will report back to you next week. In the meantime, let me know what questions you think I should ask.

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