<p>My oldest is a recent college grad and on his birthday no longer covered by our health plan. He is in between this year, college and law school and making money in a variety of odd jobs.</p>
<p>What is the best way to look for a catastrophic health plan? He is in very good health, and we are on a very tight budget.</p>
<p>He is very healthy- non-smoker, had a 4.0 average, etc. if that makes a difference when shopping around.</p>
<p>When I begin to search online the pop ups and ads are overwhelming.</p>
<p>What can I expect to pay per month for a very very high deductible plan for major accidents, etc.?</p>
<p>We considered both short term health insurance and an individual health insurance plan for our recent grad before deciding that Cobra benefits were probably worth it. I think the basic difference is that short term insurance is appropriate when there’s the expectation that the grad’s own health insurance through an employer will begin within 6 months. I saw an ad for Assurant Health (not plugging them - I’m sure all these plans are very similar) and checked out their website. You can plug in various options for deductibles, co-pays. etc.</p>
<p>It’s possible to purchase coverage for under $100/month, though the benefits are very limited - no pre-existing conditions, no mental health care (you can pay a ton extra for it, if you want), large deductibles, etc. But it’s important to have protection against an unforeseen serious problem, so these plans may work for some families.</p>
<p>You might want to post the state he is living in. NY is very expensive, becasue of community rating (everyone pays the same, heatlh condition doesnt make a diff) and other mandates. What this means is even if son qualified for and wanted better policy for him, New York state says he is not allowed to get chearper policy. What many people in between jobs do is get a job at starbucks and get into their plan. Large employers are able to avoid state mandates through self-insurance and Erisa overrides of state law.</p>
<p>It is generally important to have no “breaks in coverage” – othersiwe new company can demand physical –</p>
<p>You really need to examine each program. Get a broker or insurance salesperson to help. </p>
<p>In DS’s current state he could have enrolled in a HDHP-HSAs with low benefits (no high benefits) at relative low cost. Whereas his home state, HDHP-HSAs only came with high benefits (no low benefits) at relatively high cost. </p>
<p>Choices, choices, too many and no two alike.</p>
<p>online, several marketers like ehealth, einsurance, etc, offer comparisons. I then used a broker, to confirm the choice. I then took broker’s recommendation by purchasing from broker.</p>
<p>The alumni associations of most major universities have “affinity” programs with short term health insurance programs. My son’s school, as well as those of some of his friends, recommended Assurant. It can be purchased on a monthly or quarterly basis and is pretty cheap, but you get what you pay for. $2,500 deductible so it really is a type of serious injury coverage. You order it over the web.</p>
<p>The cheapest I’ve seen is ~48$/mo. You’d have to pay pretty much everything out of pocket, but it would cover any catastrophic event, and also provide the continuity of insurance…</p>