Humana in Virginia

[Guest]

A friend asked me about Humana in Virginia. I don't know much about them as they are not a player in CA. Do these folks pay their claims and have half-way decent customer service? Feel free to PM if you don't want to go public.

Note: I'm not licensed in VA... just trying to help a friend decide on that or the GI Anthem Lumenos (with the many caps it has... which he does not like... can't say I blame him.)

Al

 

[TXINSURANCE]

Their not bad, I don't sell a lot of them as their issue rate is rather low and some of their process is not agent / user friendly.

If the person is healthy I think there are better options, if there are health concerns they might be stuck.

VA has no risk pool for reasons I can not even imagine - they do have GI plans if HIPPA eligible but they are no frills and rather expensive.

I tend to sell more United / UHC and Aetna in VA.

Rates are so so in VA not bad, not great either.

 

[Guest]

VA has no risk pool for reasons I can not even imagine - they do have GI plans if HIPPA eligible but they are no frills and rather expensive.

I did a bit of research to help my friend. This was interesting:
Individual Health Insurance Sold by Private Insurers | Virginia

Unless I read it wrong it seems that VA is a GI state. I didn't know that. From the above manual:

Anthem BlueCross BlueShield and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield will sell individual health insurance to any Virginia resident regardless of health status. CareFirst serves northern Virginia, and Anthem serves other parts of the state. Policies you get from these companies cannot permanently exclude coverage for your pre-existing condition. Currently, Anthem imposes a 12 month pre-existing exclusion period and CareFirst imposes a 10 month pre-existing exclusion period. You will not receive credit for prior creditable coverage. Finally, rates for these plans are currently not based on health status but, depending on the insurer, may be adjusted for other factors such as age and location.

The Anthem Lumenos plans have caps on drugs and some other items, but it sure beats nothing.

Al

 

[TXINSURANCE]

It is only GI if they are HIPPA eligible, have no other options and about 6 questions. The carriers also only have to offer their base plans with no options.

They are not offered at the same rate - every company has a HIPPA rate calculation.

I believe it goes up to 400% rate up.

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

I believe it goes up to 400% rate up.

Whew! Pretty stiff. In Florida, they are only allowed to rate up to 200% of standard. Guess that's a bargain!

 

[Guest]

It is only GI if they are HIPPA eligible, have no other options and about 6 questions.

Hmmm. I didn't see the HIPAA requirement anywhere in my research. But I'm not licensed there so I don't purport to know how it works in that state.

Al

 

[TXINSURANCE]

Hmmm. I didn't see the HIPAA requirement anywhere in my research. But I'm not licensed there so I don't purport to know how it works in that state.

Its on virtually every application paper or PDF.

You can call the DOI also.

 

[J.R.]

Joe is right about the 400% cap. It's a crapshoot. VA should see what MD is doing and think about them apples.

As for Anthem, their the cheapest kid in town next to Golden Rule. I'd go with Golden Rule and Assurant before I go with Anthem. Look through the price and see the policy details yourself for those plans.

I'm not a big fan of caps when other carriers offer similarly priced policies that are superior.

 

[TXINSURANCE]

If you write a GI HIPPA plan in VA I don't think you can add on the unlimited RX or ANY other options, if you read the application is says BASE PLAN ONLY with NO add ons.

Very interesting.

 

[dgoldenz]

In case anyone is still wondering, in VA the Anthem GI plan does not require HIPAA eligibility. If they are HIPAA eligible, they would be a "Level 4" on any of their other plans they offer (level 1-3 are underwritten).