Health Insurance

May 14, 2004 1:20 PM

Which providers, if any, offer catastrophic health insurance for individuals (or sole proprietors)? I'm looking for an inexpensive high-deductable plan, but Blue Cross, at least in New York, no longer offers one. [...]

I'm healthy and fit, and I can afford routine doctor and dentist visits and prescriptions out-of-pocket. But if I get badly injured or sick I want to be pretty fully covered after say a $5000 or $10,000 annual deductable.

As malphigian noted in this thread, Blue Cross used to offer plans like that, but I've called them and at least my regional franchise (Empire Blue Cross) no longer does - although they offer for $110 per month a plan that covers non-physician hospital charges, which would help a lot if I just got real sick but still leave me exposed to ruinous surgery fees if I get hit by a bus or something.

Isn't anyone selling what I need?

posted by nicwolff to Work & Money (5 answers total)

I was more familiar with the possibly more old-fashioned term "major medical" instead of "catastrophic". By searching on "major medical" I found that my university's alumni association offers such a plan, and I think they can be had through other types of groups as well.

I can't recommend anything from personal experience however. Good luck!
posted by Stoatfarm at 2:54 PM on May 14, 2004

I've got what amounts to catastrophic insurance through Unicare; I'm 38, healthy, a sole proprietor, and pay about $75/mo. It's what I call the "don't get sick" plan.
posted by adamrice at 3:50 PM on May 14, 2004

It might be interesting to note that there are some health benefit cards available that (in addition to regular medical dental vision and prescription discounts) offer cash payments in case of an accident. For example, I have one from Health Plus of America (HPA) that pays up to $5000 per accident. Combine that with a $5000 deductible catastrophic policy from your insurer and you're looking at pretty low exposure from that bus attack. I think there's a similar card offered by the Small Business Association, as well.

Email me if you want more info on the HPA card.
posted by Jonasio at 4:49 PM on May 14, 2004

I've plugged for them before based on good experience: www.ehealthinsurance.com. They connected me with regular full coverage through Blue Cross for $47 per month. They probably have better rates for the catastrophic stuff. They're a broker, and will provide you with rate quotes if you give them some basic info about what you're looking for.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 5:10 PM on May 14, 2004

$47 per month? Wow. I'm paying $100 more than that per month for an indemnity plan through these guys.

$2000 deductible for big problems, $500 for ambulatory care. Hmm. Am I getting hosed with a $150/month premium here?
posted by weston at 7:06 PM on May 14, 2004