how does self paid heath insurance work?

[sublime]

i will more than likely be self employed pretty soon and have no idea how insurance works. currently i have blue cross/blue shield HMO and my employer pays for 100% of it. i am sure i can use cobra for a specified amount of time, but after that, then what? do i have to go to take a physical/blood work etc? where should i buy it from? what can i expect to pay? (26 healthy non smoker) are there any specific states that are more expensive that other?

thanks all

[jakethebake]

one good thing to know about cobra is that you can sign up retroactively for like 90 days so you're effectively insured for free. in other words don't sign up unless something happens to where you need it. if you need it then sign up and the coverage is retroactive to when you quit your old job.

[Shajen]

I don't know how it works where you live, but in general you can go online and look up something along the lines of health insurance companies and then hit their webpages.

My wife (back in her bartending days) had to pay for her own plan. I think it cost in the neighborhood of around $100 a month or so. It wasn't bad. She did still have to pay for doctor's visits though, sort of like a co-pay.

I don't believe she had to take a physical, but depending upon the health insurance company, you might.

Best bet is probably just do a little research on the intarweb dude.

[jakethebake]

Also, i don't know if you're a poker player or what you do for a living, but if you belong to any kind of professional organizations, sporting/hobby organizations, or even an alumni organization, a lot of them offer group plans.

[sublime]

it will be poker mainly. i am also in the process of putting togther a web site geared towards sports bettors and online gamblers in general.

[FatMan]

If you are healthy get high deductable insurance and an MSA (Medical Savings Account) or I believe the are Health Savings Accounts Now, HSA.

[snakehead]

get a high deductible and pay for most of your own doctor visits. different companies have different rates in different states, so check with several of them. you can contact each individually or just call a few brokers who can check them all for you. you can also check with AAA auto club, as they have some deals with some health ins companies.

at your age, the premium should be way under $100 a month.

[b0000000000m]

I agree with the advice regarding the high deductible (unless you have a medical problem that you're going to keep secret from the insurance company). Get the plan with the highest deductible that you could afford to pay every year.

Just an example:

I am a healthy non-smoking white male, age 23. I have a POS (point of service--I choose my own doctors and treatments) plan with a $5,000 annual deductible. My monthly premium is $71.50.