I’m a permanent resident (non-U.S. citizen) returning in July, after a twelve-year absence as an expat in Turkey, UAE and Hong Kong (where my family and I are currently based). I’m an insurance professional myself (currently the regional head of product innovation for a European insurer for their Asia region), but having been away for so long, I can’t say I’m on top of things when it comes to health insurance in the U.S, especially with the changes that have happened with Obamacare in recent years.
I will not be transferring with my company, so the first order of the day will be to buy individual health insurance for me and my family. We will be based in New Jersey until I find new employment, which could be anywhere in the country. There are some things I find a bit confusing and was wondering if there are some health insurance agents/brokers here who can answer them:
1. Is there an advantage to buying from an exchange vs. from an agent? I believe with the ACA any plan launched since when the system first started last year would have to accept anyone with a pre-existing condition and they would not be able to charge higher premium for it either, whether or not that plan is bought from an exchange. Is my understanding correct? The only additional benefit I was able to see about the exchanges is that you can get it at a discounted price there. Is this correct, or are there other differences?
2. I’m a bit old fashioned and would prefer a face-to-face interaction with a multi-carrier producer, such as a broker, rather than buying online because there are usually other things about carriers such as service quality that would not show up on a comparison site. The problem is, I cannot seem to find any NJ-based health insurance agents or brokers, no matter how many different ways I’ve Googled. I’ve even tried the yellow pages. I keep getting listings for auto agents that don’t sell health insurance. When I click on “get local help” on the exchange, all I get is the name and email of some people who are supposed to be agents but no physical address. Can anyone recommend a good agent/broker that specializes in NJ (Union City/Newark areas)?
3. I played around on the exchange a little bit and realized that one of the fields I have to enter is “income.” The thing is, since we will be moving without any jobs, our regular income will be “0” for some time. Should I put the US$ equivalent of my most recent Hong Kong salary? Would I need to prove how much I make (or don’t)? Would I be forced into buying Medicaid because I don’t yet have any U.S. income?
Appreciate any light you may be able to shed on the above.
Thanks!
I will not be transferring with my company, so the first order of the day will be to buy individual health insurance for me and my family. We will be based in New Jersey until I find new employment, which could be anywhere in the country. There are some things I find a bit confusing and was wondering if there are some health insurance agents/brokers here who can answer them:
1. Is there an advantage to buying from an exchange vs. from an agent? I believe with the ACA any plan launched since when the system first started last year would have to accept anyone with a pre-existing condition and they would not be able to charge higher premium for it either, whether or not that plan is bought from an exchange. Is my understanding correct? The only additional benefit I was able to see about the exchanges is that you can get it at a discounted price there. Is this correct, or are there other differences?
2. I’m a bit old fashioned and would prefer a face-to-face interaction with a multi-carrier producer, such as a broker, rather than buying online because there are usually other things about carriers such as service quality that would not show up on a comparison site. The problem is, I cannot seem to find any NJ-based health insurance agents or brokers, no matter how many different ways I’ve Googled. I’ve even tried the yellow pages. I keep getting listings for auto agents that don’t sell health insurance. When I click on “get local help” on the exchange, all I get is the name and email of some people who are supposed to be agents but no physical address. Can anyone recommend a good agent/broker that specializes in NJ (Union City/Newark areas)?
3. I played around on the exchange a little bit and realized that one of the fields I have to enter is “income.” The thing is, since we will be moving without any jobs, our regular income will be “0” for some time. Should I put the US$ equivalent of my most recent Hong Kong salary? Would I need to prove how much I make (or don’t)? Would I be forced into buying Medicaid because I don’t yet have any U.S. income?
Appreciate any light you may be able to shed on the above.
Thanks!