Submitted by EngineeringTop5843 t3_10o7sop in Maine
We have a 2 yr old, no medical issues. Have been on Maine are but won’t qualify anymore soon because income increase. Anyone have insight on which companies are best to work with most manageable cost?
Your best bet is through your employer or through the federal exchange. Through your employer will probably be the cheapest.
Harvard pilgrim has been awesome for us.
If your employer doesn't offer insurance, the whole point of the federal exchange is to be able to compare plan benefits and costs without having to call every company. You punch in your info, it will determine subsidies, and give you options and prices.
Your employer's plan will easily be the best option if you don't qualify for anything else due to income level.
If you have an employer who offers group coverage, that may be your option. If you are without coverage, Maine has its own state exchange. Www.CoverME.gov
There are three carriers in Maine. Depending on where you are located will be part of your decision making process.
Cost will be predicated upon your income. But don’t assume the least expensive will work for you. You must consider what you want in a plan.
You can have help with this by looking for local agents/brokers or navigators. This help can be found thru the website. I encourage you to do this as opposed to striking out on your own. There is no cost to you whether you use them or not. It can be confusing enough, I strongly recommend you go to the website mentioned above.
Employer insurance is the cheapest but you're unfortunately stuck with whatever they've deemed appropriate, and it doesn't usually cover things like mental health. You also have to make sure everything you do is in network or thr price gets crazy high.
If at all possible have you or your spouse get a job with healthcare. If not possible you have to use thr Maine exchange which has comparison tools, it will also tell you if you are in fact eligible for a subsidy. Kids ease that more than two childless adults. They really fuck a married couple when you don’t have kids. The plans will either be in unaffordable or complete shit. American health care is a wealth transfer scam from working people to the wealthy so, pucker up! We have community health options which we can afford. It covers very little and has a 14k-ish deductible.
>at all possible have you or your spouse get a job with healthcare.
not all jobs in Healthcare come with great health benefits. spouse and i both work in Healthcare and the best option for family is a 30k out of pocket max, terrible prescription cvg, referrals for everything and 250/500 for appts.
just being in the field isn't a Golden Ticket. do your research
Just avoid Anthem. They're so bad some providers won't even deal with them.
No I mean, a job that provides a health plan, not specifically a job in health care.
If you qualified for Maine care as a family of 3 and are now over the limit then unless you doubled your income (hopefully that's the case) then you are going to be SoL for affording outside insurance.
Consumers for Affordable Healthcare is an amazing non profit Maine based resource that excels at advising people through transitions like these. It's worth noting that depending on how much your income is set to increase, your child may be eligible for CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) which may provide a low cost option.
This is the only accurate response in this thread. Unfortunately Healthcare in the US is broken and the first step in fixing it is education- it’s too confusing for people to understand unless they are in the insurance industry. Listen to this response- work with someone that will review all options and provide you with recommendations- at no cost you.
Except that Maine has its own exchange now. coverme.gov. Check it out but seconding recommendations to get help from Consumers for Affordable Health, or from a local broker. There are three companies but many plans and they can help cut through the confusion, make it less stressful, and get you the best plan for you.
Also, not all jobs offer a good plan either. One job I had, the offered plan would take out $400/m with a $50 copay. I was making $10/hr barely getting 40 hrs, that was my grocery and gas money. I just went without.
Yeah, there are sometimes just all bad options. I hate it.
Yup, you'd think multi-million dollar earning businesses with more than 200 employees would get a better deal at least.
What do I know, I'm just here to clean the toilets 🤷
It’s good to be thinking about it. Depending on when your income went up you may still be able to keep MaineCare for your kid for a while.
And keep in mind that you can’t get MaineCare and a subsidy for a marketplace plan at the same time.
cub care! if you're just over income you should be eligible, it's mainecare except you pay a monthly or yearly fee. definitely look into it good luck 🤞
alpha417 t1_j6cyibs wrote
thru your employer?