Cinergy Health seems to do as much advertising these days as Billy Mays. No, they don’t pitch OxiClean or Mighty Putty, but Cinergy does heavily market their medical plans.

Are they worth it? In most cases…No! In fact, unless you thoroughly read the fine print of your policy, you may be in for a jolt!

Available Cinergy Plans

Cinergy offers two types of plans. “Cinergy Health Signature” is their discount health plan and “Cinergy Health Preferred” is their insurance plan. Both plans offer far less coverage than a conventional Ohio health insurance policy from a major insurer…such as Blue Cross, Aetna or UnitedHealthCare.

“Cinergy Health Signature” is NOT a health insurance policy. It may help you reduce some of your healthcare costs, but not necessarily a significant amount. Coverage benefits are very vague and the premium for a single person is almost $1000 per year. And, the plans are actually provided by Patriot Health Florida, who requires you to PAY FOR ALL HEALTHCARE SERVICES in advance. Later, you may receive a discount on some of those expenses.

“Cinergy Health Preferred 500” is considered an insurance plan, but coverages are limited and descriptions of these coverages are fairly vague on their website. For example, this plan only covers ONE emergency room visit per year. Only ONE preventative visit per year is allowed. Daily hospital confinement charges are also limited to $500 per day and 30 days per year.

The Cost

If you can qualify for an Ohio Health Insurance Plan from a major carrier, then don’t waste your time with Cinergy. If you are uninsurable, then you may want to consider a plan…but read the policy in its entirety. Cinergy will only consider refund requests in writing and will not refund the application fee.

Affordable Ohio health insurance is available. To instantly viewand compare high quality Ohio health plans, please click on the “Get Instant Quote” button at the top of this page. You can get comprehensive coverage without breaking the bank.

Tough choice. If you’re an Ohio resident and health insurance coverage is one of your key concerns, there are many factors to consider.

Obama’s plan would have the government take a stronger role in reducing the number of uninsured Americans.

McCain’s proposal would tax workers for the value of their employer-provided health plan, at the same time giving tax credits of $2,500 to single people and of $5,000 to families. The idea is for the employees to use the money to buy individual health insurance plans.

 A Female Perspective

Speaking from the Ladies’ Gallery in the Ohio Statehouse, Nikki Rigano, a worker at the New Albany Kroger and member of UFCW Local 1059, had this to say about Senator McCain’s health care proposals:

“Senator McCain’s plan to establish a brand new ‘health tax’ would be irresponsible during the best of times, but during an economic crisis it threatens the well-being of middle-class families everywhere. Instead of creating new taxes, he should be helping hard-working Americans keep the tools they need to stay healthy. Putting affordable, quality health coverage out of reach for more than 900,000 Ohioans is simply not an acceptable option.”

I don’t accept Rigano’s notion, and in fact believe McCain’s plan will help more Ohioans with their health insurance than Obama’s plan. 

More than 1.2 million Ohioans currently have no health insurance and one million more are under-insured. These figures are hardly surprising, considering Ohio health insurance premiums have risen more than 250% since 2000.  According to a recent report by the Center for American Progress, a middle-class Ohio family could expect to pay an extra $900 in McCain’s “health tax” by 2013, and 920,000 would lose coverage altogether under his plan.

However, the nonpartisan Factcheck.org has said this assertion is false. Factcheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Its mission is to monitor the validity of political advertising and rhetoric so that voters will be able to make a more informed choice at the polls.

 False Claims

“The Obama-Biden ad falsely claims McCain says he wants to “do the same to our health care” that “Wall Street deregulation” has done to the banking industry,” Factcheck.org said in its analysis.

According to them, the ad takes a phrase out of context from an article Sen. McCain wrote in the September/October issue of “Contingencies,” a journal of the American Academy of Actuaries.

The full quote provides the context. What Sen. McCain is talking about is permitting people to buy health insurance across state lines – a practice currently not permitted.

Sen. McCain wrote, “I would also allow individuals to choose to purchase health insurance across state lines, when they can find more affordable and attractive products elsewhere … Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation. Consumer-friendly insurance policies will be more available and affordable.”

  Buying Insurance Across State Lines 

  Sen. McCain’s proposal echos what insurance industry analysts have been saying for years. Currently, the residents of each state can only buy insurance from companies operating in that state. Industry analysts say that benefits mandated by legislators, which have little to do with consumers, drive up costs.

For example, families in New Jersey, which mandates more benefits than Pennsylvania, such as infertility, a family plan can cost $1,652 per month, while a family can buy a plan in Pennsylvania for $707 per month. Critics point out 60-year-olds have little need for infertility benefits.

For your personalized Ohio health insurance quote, visit http://www.ohioquotes.com or email eharris@ohioquotes.com 

What is a Health Savings Account (“HSA”)?

A Health Savings Account is an alternative to traditional health insurance; it is a savings product that offers a alternative way for consumers to pay for their health care. HSAs enable you to pay for current health expenses and save for future qualified medical and retiree health expenses on a tax-free basis.

Don

You must be covered by a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) to be able to take advantage of HSAs. An HDHP generally costs less than what traditional health care coverage costs, so the money that you save on insurance can therefore be put into the Health Savings Account.

Many Ohio insurance companies offer HSAs.  Anthem and UnitedHealthCare may be the best options while Medical Mutual and Aetna are also companies to consider.

What Is a “High Deductible Health Plan” (HDHP)?
You must have an HDHP if you want to open an HSA. Sometimes referred to as a “catastrophic” health insurance plan, an HDHP is an inexpensive health insurance plan that generally doesn’t pay for the first several thousand dollars of health care expenses  (i.e., your “deductible”) but will generally cover you after that .  Of course, your HSA is available to help  pay for the expenses your plan does not cover. A wide range of deductibles is available…generally between $1500 and $10,000. 

How can I get a Health Savings Account?

Ohio residents can visit http://www.ohioquotes.com for an instant free quote. Out-of-state residents can visit http://www.majormedicalhealth.com. These are two of the most comprehensive health insurance websites available to the public. And yes…I am a bit biased!

How much does an HSA cost?
An HSA is not something you purchase; it’s a savings account into which you can deposit money on a tax-preferred basis.  The only product you purchase with an HSA is a High Deductible Health Plan, an inexpensive plan that will cover you should your medical expenses exceed the funds you have in your HSA. The two websites listed in the prior paragraph will provide you with immediate rates.

In my 29 years as a health insurance broker, I have viewed, and subsequently recommended many health insurance plans. Each situation is different and, obviously, affordability issues play a big part in the decision-making process.

However, there are many available health insurance plans that are quite affordable, compared to other options. For this example, I am basing the rates on a healthy nonsmoking 35-year old male living in the Columbus area. Premiums provided are monthly…

$42  Aetna Preventive and Hospital Care 3000 ($3000 Ded.) 

$47  Anthem Blue Access Value ($5000 Ded.)

$52  Anthem Luminos HSA ($5000 Ded.)

$55  Anthem Blue Access Value ($3000 Ded.)

$61  Aetna Preventitive and Hospital Care 1200 ($1200 Ded.)

$63  Anthem Blue Access Value ($2000 Ded.)

$65  Aetna PPO 5000 ($5000 Ded.)

$77 Medical Mutual Standard 2500 ($2500 Ded.)

$93 Anthem Blue Access Plan 2 ($2500 Ded.)

All of these policies offer some level of office visit coverage without having to meet a deducible. Naturally, pre-existing conditions may increase the rate.

To instantly view your current Ohio health insurance rates, please click on the “Get Instant Quote” button at the top of the page.