If your Ohio employer does not offer you medical insurance benefits, than an individual healthcare plan is your best choice. We show you the most popular private policies that allow you to select the coverages you want at the least expensive prices. If you are a resident of the state and are either not currently covered, or simply wish to lower your rates, we can help. Many major carriers offer a wide selection of plans in most areas of the Buckeye State.

Some of the most popular individual policies are “Value” plans (catastrophic-tier level). They provide respectable major medical coverage for catastrophic and hospital needs. However,  private rates are kept low by reducing the number of covered office visits and limiting coverage for non-generic prescriptions. Preventative benefits are fully covered on these types of policies. For example, once the policy is approved, there would be no waiting period to schedule a routine annual physical, child well-check visit or a qualified OBGYN visit.

You must be aware of an”Open Enrollment” period when applying for your own coverage. If the policy does not guarantee acceptance, you can apply for coverage at any time. An approval can be granted from a day to a few weeks, depending on the type of benefits you are purchasing. We help you determine the exact policies you should be applying for and what companies are your best choices. If you are denied coverage, typically, several additional options are available.

For example, if you have no significant medical concerns, an individual short-term policy could be easily approved within minutes. If you  are waiting for your group contract to begin and only need a few months of coverage, the application process can be completed in less than 20 minutes. If medical records need to be ordered (which is not often), the process will take longer. Note: Many carriers, such as Cigna, Kaiser, and Keystone, do not offer short-term plans.

When shopping for a personal (or family) “Value” plan, it is important to only consider “name” reputable health insurance companies. Never purchase “discount plans.” Companies that sell discounted contracts  are usually located outside of Ohio and charge a large upfront application fee. Benefit descriptions are often vague, and contact information is generally quite confusing.

And trying to get a refund from them is about as pleasant as having a root canal. If you suspect the carrier is not legitimate, contact us and we’ll provide a free research report on any complaint issues they have handles or the validity of the contracts they are offering to the public.

Some of the best individual Ohio personal health insurance “Value” Plans are:

Anthem “SmartSense”

Aetna “Preventative and Hospital”

United HealthCare “Copay Select Value”

Celtic “Basic”

Humana “Monogram”

Medical Mutual “Wellness”

Naturally, before making a selection, it’s always advisable to review your particular situation and we will carefully advise you of all of the existing options. We’ll be happy to provide quotes for those plans or you can start the process yourself at the top of each page on our website.

Update: (2021) – Although the plans listed above are no longer offered, many Marketplace plans are available.  New carriers (Oscar) and old carriers (Medical Mutual, Anthem, UnitedHealthcare, and SummaCare) provide policies in selected counties.