I know that if you have an illness of any sort, and change insurance
carriers after a claim, they automatically put a rider on the policy for
that illness for a period of time, depending on the illness. My girlfriend
had to have back surgery, they fused a disk in her neck. When they changed
insurance carriers, there was a rider on any further back injuries for a
period of about 5 years. After the five year period, she was able to go
back to the doctor to have further tests on her back, which were then
covered by her insurance carrier. But they have always been self-employed
also.
I have a few friends who left their places of employment and they were able
to keep their existing medical policies by paying a monthly premium
directly to their former employer's insurance company, instead of through
the companies they worked for.
That might be an option for your husband. It might be a little higher,
than if you were to go to a self-employed group policy, and yes, there are
many insurance carriers out there that have group policies for
self-employed people. You could call different companies and ask questions
regarding riders on policies. If you find a company that has a rider, say,
for two years, then keep your premiums up on the insurance from the
employer's insurance company for two years, then switch over to a
self-employed group policy after the rider would not affect you.
Another option would be, if the policy at your husband's work covers the
entire family, and it turns out it would be expensive to carry the entire
family if that policy were to continue after employment, you could buy a
policy for yourself and family (if applicable), and your husband could just
pay premiums on himself on the existing employer policy after employment.
Yes, the system sucks, but in years of listening to other people's problems
with the system, I have picked up a "few" tricks. I still got whapped
hard, since I was struck December 30, and hospitalized through the new
year, so I had to pay TWO deductibles, one for 1996 and one for 1997, (it's
in the teeny tiny print) but I am still better off than if I had had no
insurance whatsoever. My bills have totaled over $23,000 to date, not
including medications, which I pay partly, and part co-pay by insurance. I
still only had to pay about $7,000 of that myself.
I know this is long-winded, but I hope it helps you a little. If you want
to know the names of some insurance carriers, I could give you a few names.
It depends on the area of the country that you live, but some of them are
nationwide.
Debbie
dcapen(AT)ivic.net