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Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...

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Health Insurance confusion

Reed31
Reed31
I think it's a few months until we get to open enrollment in the US but I am so confused!

I went out to the exchange and they've got PPO's, HMO's, EPO's and something else. Then there's deductibles, co-pays and coinsurance.

There's bronze, silver and gold.

And then I have no idea what medications they cover.

Each thing covers something different and has different rules and everything.

I've gone out to read up on everything but I still don't get things. Like they give a percentage on coinsurance. So does that mean I have to pay that percentage of the bill or only up to the deductible?

Any ideas for making sense of all of this?
mginmn
mginmn
Ugh, forms, confusion. I hate these kinds of things, they really cause me a lot of anxiety.

You might trying going to this web link for help. It can direct you to local folks who may be able to answer your questions. There is also a general help number there.

https://localhelp.healthcare.gov/

Also, if you are on meds, perhaps your doctor can help you to figure out which plan you should sign up for.

Best of luck, and I hope you have a good weekend.
Reed31
Reed31
Thank you mgi. I'm going to give them a call. I know the sign up time is November but I'm trying to sort out if I can save some money on insurance or if it would be stupid to switch.

The problem is that it's SO complex. Like an entire book that is one long story question in math class!

I need to see what various plans will cover and then which plans my doctors will take and what they do if they don't take it and how much they charge and if they offer discounts plus try to anticipate what I will most likely need...ugh!

Thanks for the link, mgi. Hopefully they can help me sort this out.
Crispymomma
Crispymomma
Yeah that junk can be confusing. You have to pay a deductible first before the insurance company will cover anything if it has a deductible. I hate the deductible ones. I always end up paying way more on those than if I would have paid a little more for a plan without a deductible. But that is just me. I know that I will go to the doctor : )
Hope you can make since of it all. I deal with all of that in my household. There are a lot of options. If I can help let me know.
Reed31
Reed31
I typically use alternative treatments which aren't covered but keep me healthier. I just want to make sure I have coverage for accidents, heart attack, cancer - the biggies.

I have really great insurance right now, but it is killing me cost-wise. But without it, my migraine medicine is over $2,000/month which - I'd just have to do without. Actually, most of the insurance companies will cover a couple of pills each month, but not enough.

With the new vitamin therapy, my headaches have really slowed down so I'm going to keep an eye on it but I may be able to switch over soon.

Thanks everyone. Any other tips or insights are still welcome. I'll be working on this through November.