health insurance coverage in Illinois

[oh_shhhnap]

I have a friend who currently works for a big corporation here in Illinois through a temp agency which the temp agency  offered health insurance using BCBS of Michigan. The problem was that the monthly premiums were way too high for her to be able to afford so she never did the open enrollment. It was coming out like $350-$400 a month for the monthly premium. She is a healthy person with no pre existing medical conditions. All she really needs is some type of coverage for regular visits at the doctor's office and for emergencies just in case something does happen. Any recommendations what she could do in this case? Would  a short term health insurance program offered by such companies like Aetna, BCBS, Unicare be the way to go for her or do you have any other recommendation that she can inquire about to obtain health insurance coverage for an affordable monthly premium with low deductibles. She has no kids either and does not smoke. She's in her mid twenties and single. She also makes close to 28 K a year.

[Amir Mostafaie]

Dear oh_shhhnap,

First of all, great job of communicating your friend’s situation with relevent details; secondly, your friend can definitely save some money by getting an individual health insurance plan.
Short Term plans are appropriate if/when you need the coverage for 6 months or less. In your friend’s case, she might be better off with a standard health insurance plan (which is month to month & can be cancelled if she finds a group plan).
If she is not concerned about maternity coverage, amongst carriers you mentioned, BCBS & Unicare offer good values (BCBS, Blue Choice Select & Unicare, Fit plans) in the State of IL.
For free quotes & to compare, choose & apply for a plan, you can visit www.ehealthinsurance.com (where I work) & call with any questions.

Sincerely,

Amir Mostafaie

[oh_shhhnap]

thanks for the advice. I was actually trying to assist her through www.ehealthinsurance.com in applying for health insurance. She came to a road block because she doesn't have records of past doctor visits here in Illinois since moving here several years ago. I believe she's only seen the doctor's office maybe less than 5 times in the 5 - 6 years she's lived here. She's not sure how to answer those questions in the ehealthinsurance questionnaire. Should she just skip those specific question? Will she still get approved? I think a majority of those visits consist of mainly regular doctor checkup/visit and nothing more. This is the only thing right now that's delaying her from applying for insurance through ehealthinsurance. If you can give us advice on how she proceed, we would appreciate it. Thanks

[Amir Mostafaie]

Dear oh_shhhnap,

It is not uncommon for people to forget the details of their heath history. Please advise your friend to call ehealth help line at 800-977-8860, option 1 & ask to speak with an application specialist & they will be able to help her with that issue. eHealth is open from 6:00am-9:00pm Pacific Standard time. Please let me know if you run into any snags.

Sincerely,

Amir Mostafaie