| By :
Marilyn Katz
Are you over fifty? Are you a contract worker, self-employed, or otherwise without health insurance? If so, you may need to research your options to purchase a private plan. There are a lot of choices, but many older peope are finding they do not qualify for all of these alternatives. Lots of older people have given up the search for an affordable health insurance plan. They are just hoping they do not get sick before Medicare kicks in at age 65! Take a look at individual health insurance for peope who are over 50. Even if you are older, but are still pretty healthy, you may have good luck on the individual health insurance market. The problem here is that many people over 50 have started to develop some health issues. Any health conditions could cause your premiums to be higher. They could even mean that you could get declined. To lower premiums, you may have to raise the yearly plan deductible. You may have to accept coverage without all of the bells and whistles too. Low office visit copsys or cheap prescriptions may have to be passed over. You have to pay a reasonable amount that you can afford. If you purchase a great plan, but cannot afford the premiums, it will not be useful at all. Just remember why you purchase major medical. It is to protect you against a severe illness and a financial catastrophe. It may not be to cover ever stop at the clinic or bottle of generic antibiotics. What if you get declined for insurance coverage? Every US state has some type of high risk plan for its residents. They differ, so I cannot cover each one here. You should search for the plan in your own state. They should all have websites. Not everybody qualifies for these plans. These plans may have high premiums in some areas. The state high risk plans will not help everybody, but you should find out if it can help cover you. There is also a new national plan for high risk individuals. Right now, it seems to work along with state plans.This is part of federal health reform. It seems as if the number of people these new plans can accept are being limited by budget concerns, so if you think this will help you, look into it right away. The new plan also comes with some conditions in order to be accepted. But from what I understand, the premiums may be lower than some state plans. In addition, the federal plans differ in some states too. Again, if you find the website for the high risk health plan in your state, it should also direct you to the federal high risk health plan information. What if you just cannot afford premiums? If you cannot afford the price of the health plan that you qualify for, you still may have some options. The federal health insurance plan, Medicaid, covers the poor. Many counties have hospital systems with health plans for low to moderate income people. In addition, you may look for foundations which help people with specific health conditions. The PPARX.org website is a good resource to look for some more help.
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