Ohio COBRA Health Insurance coverage will last another six months after recent legislation extended the length of the federal COBRA subsidy from 9 months to 15 months.  Also, more Ohio residents will qualify for COBRA coverage since workers laid off from Sept. 1 2008 to Feb. 28 2010 will be eligible for the Ohio COBRA Health insurance coverage. With this subsidy, eligible workers only pay 35% of their total COBRA premiums to continue to receive health insurance coverage through their former employers.

COBRA is a federal law that allows employees that leave their jobs to continue and maintain their former employee’s health insurance coverage for 18 months. Normally, employees are required to pay the entire cost of the coverage, making COBRA benefits unaffordable for most Ohio workers.

Income restrictions limit coverage to Ohio individuals that make less than $145,000 and to Ohio families that make less than $290,000. Also, COBRA is offered with group health plans when employers have more than 20 employees. Voluntary or involuntary termination of employment (other than gross misconduct) or a reduction in the number of hours of employment are “qualifying events” that would allow employees to become eligible for COBRA. The United States Department Of Labor offers these COBRA FAQs.

However, it is possible that Ohio COBRA premiums (even after the subsidy) will be expensive and possibly unaffordable. If there are no existing major health conditions, an individual Ohio health insurance policy is an alternative to COBRA health insurance. Depending on age, zip code and some other factors, rates may be quite affordable. And this type of coverage can be kept indefinitely, without the worry of a major health condition occurring just before coverage expires.

We’re Ohio’s premier resource for affordable Ohio COBRA health insurance alternatives. Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna, Medical Mutual and UnitedHealthOne are some of the major health insurers we consider when researching your options. If you would like to instantly view your options, please click on the “Get Instant Quote” button at the top of the page. Your personal information will never be shared with any other person or company.

Ohio Medicaid Health Insurance is available to many Ohio residents and offers two programs for children, families and pregnant women with low income that may not be able to afford Ohio health care. “Healthy Start” and “Healthy Families” are available to Ohio residents that have a social security number and meet certain financial requirements.

“Healthy Start” (also known as “SCHIP”) is available to children under age 19 and pregnant women in families with income up to 200% of the federal poverty level. Healthy Start does NOT impose a pre-existing condition clause. Once eligible for Ohio Medicaid, each child will have access to Healthchek, Ohio’s early and periodic screening, diagnosis and treatment program. Federal poverty level income requirements can be found here. 

“Healthchek” provides Ohio children (through age 20) preventative, diagnosis and treatment services. Eight checkups in the first two years of life along with follow-up annual checkups provide comprehensive health care. Each physical examination includes a medical history review, complete unclothed exam, vision and dental screening and other screenings and services (as needed).

Other Ohio Healthchek services include hearing and immunization assessments and additional diagnosis and treatment if a potential health problem is discovered. Any necessary lab tests, immunizations and nutritional advice will also be provided. Additional Healthchek information can be found here.

“Healthy Families” is an Ohio Medicare program available to families with income up to 90% of the federal poverty level. Each family must have a child under age 19. This program provides comprehensive coverage to members including doctor visits, prescriptions, hospital care, mental health services, well-child examinations, and dental and vision services.

To apply for coverage for either “Healthy Start” or “Healthy Families,” Ohio residents can call (800) 324 8680 or visit the Ohio Government website and apply online.

Ohio residents not eligible for Medicaid can obtain low cost Ohio health insurance plans from Ohioquotes.com, the state’s premier resource for affordable health insurance plans. For an instant quote, please click on the “Get Instant Quote” button at the top of the page.

Low cost individual Cincinnati (Ohio) health insurance plans can be viewed and purchased from the premier resource for affordable Ohio health plans… Ohioquotes.com. Rates are guaranteed to be the lowest allowable by the state, and affordable plans are offered by the major Cincinnati area insurers, such as Anthem Blue Cross, UnitedHealthOne, Medical Mutual, Aetna and Humana.

When purchasing Ohio Individual health insurance plans, it is extremely important to work with an experienced broker located in the area. Many online health insurance websites are not familiar with Cincinnati health plans because they are not located in Ohio. Also, it is likely that many of the out-of-state websites will sell your information to other brokers across the country. And unless you enjoy irritating phone calls and emails, it may not be a pleasant experience.

Cincinnati individual health insurance plans are quite affordable when compared with other parts of the state. Anthem’s comprehensive plans (Premier, SmartSense and Value) are usually very competitively priced, if you feel office visit and prescriptions coverages are important to have. UnitedHealthone’s “Copay Select” individual plan offers comprehensive coverages at extremely attractive rates.

Ohio individual health insurance rates substantially reduce when you consider plans that limit the number of covered office visits and the type of covered prescriptions. Aetna’s “Preventative & Hospital Care” and UnitedHealthOne’s “Copay Saver” plans limit office and prescription coverage, but offer a low cost alternative to higher-priced Cincinnati health coverage. Catastrophic plans (UnitedHealthOne’s Saver 80 plan) are very popular in the Cincinnati area to those that are concerned only with major medical expenses.

Low cost individual Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) have also grown in popularity in recent years. An HSA provides the opportunity to tax-deduct a portion of your medical expenses, and also provide 100% coverage after a deductible has been met. Perhaps the best low cost HSAs for the Cincinnati area are the Anthem Lumenos and Medical Mutual’s SuperMed One Wellness plans. Preventative benefits are paid without having to meet the deductible and rates are much lower than conventional plans.

Low cost individual Ohio health insurance plans are available in the Cincinnati area and most parts of the state. Ohioquotes.com is the premier resource for affordable Ohio health care and is based in Springboro. For a no-cost estimate or additional information, please call (888) 513 6446 or visit ohioquotes.com. You may also instantly view your options by clicking on the “Get Instant Quote” button at the top of the page.

Anthem Ohio health insurance rates could double…or even quadruple if health overhaul legislation is passed, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article. Wellpoint Inc., the nation’s largest health insurer (and parent company of Ohio Anthem Blue Cross) published a report that said Ohio’s health insurance rates would more than double for average individuals and nearly QUADRUPLE for younger healthier people. Wellpoint also said  that 70% of small businesses would also pay higher prices if the new proposed legislation is enacted.

Wellpoint derived its data from 14 states (including Ohio) that have Blue Cross plans and studied the impact of the main changes under consideration. They said Ohio health insurance rates would increase for individuals of average age and health, with younger customers seeing the largest increases.

Currently, Ohio health insurance rates are among the lowest in the country. The Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus areas enjoy some of the lowest rates in the state. But current health care reform proposals threaten to substantially increase rates, and possibly force Ohio residents to purchase coverage they don’t want (if the “public option” is included in legislation).

You can view the entire Wall Street Journal article here.

The MOST expensive Ohio health insurance plans? Now wait a minute! Ohio residents don’t care about expensive plans. You want me to do what I do best…find the most affordable Ohio health insurance plans. Right? Of course!

Well…today I’m going to deviate a bit. I spend 20 hours per day (OK…it seems that long) quoting, preaching, writing and writing about Ohio’s low cost health plans. Almost all of this blog’s content deals with saving you, the Ohio consumer, money.

Today is different. I have researched hundreds of plans from the major health insurance companies in an effort to find the ten most expensive Ohio individual policies. These plans are terrific policies, with rich coverages and low out-of-pocket expenses. But…they are very expensive. OK. Here they are:

1. Humana Portrait Share 80 Plus RX Unlimited $1,000 Deductible

2. Celtic Preferred Managed Indemnity Plan $1,000 Deductible

3. UnitedHealthOne Copay Select 0% Coinsurance $500 Deductible

4. Medical Mutual SuperMed One Standard 500 with Office visit and RX $500 deductible

5. Anthem Premier 80% BuyUp RX $250 Deductible

6. Anthem Premier 80% BuyUp RX $500 Deductible

7. Aetna First Dollar PPO 30 No Deductible

8. Celtic Preferred Managed Indemnity Plan $500 Deductible

9. Humana Portrait Share 80 Plus RX Unlimited (ded) $1,000 Deductible

10. Anthem Premier 80% BuyUp RX $1,000 Deductible

There they are! The 10 most expensive Ohio health insurance plans. Please keep in mind that I did not include any riders in the calculations, and excluded a few companies whose rates are extremely high on virtually every policy they offer. Also…These 10 plans are very comprehensive, and provide extensive coverage. Structurally, there is nothing wrong with the policies.

Ohioquotes.com is the premier resource for affordable Ohio health insurance plans. To instantly view, compare or apply for high-quality coverage, simply click on the “Get Instant Quote” button at the top of the page. Your information will not be shared with any other person or company.