question about insurance

[Guest guest]

Hi Crew,

I have a question about hosp. ins. I just finished school and I want work full time if I can, but I'm concerned that I will not be hired by a company that will provide me with the ins. that my hospital carries. I need experience in my field and I'll go anywhere to get it, but if I don't have the benefits, then I can't use my neuro who I think has done a fantastic job caring for my NF2. I'm concerned about walking into an interview with my terp, sitting down and finding out that this would be a great company to work for, only to learn that the benefits I would receive in the near future to cover my hospital costs is with HMO. How can I avoid this, but yet work for a company that provides me with the experience that's best for me? Right now, I have medicare plus a supplemental ins. that covers about all my hosp costs, but within 6 or 9 months after working, I'll loose the medicare, which I have no problem with if I'm working and I'm covered with an ins. my hospital will accept.

Has anyone had to deal with this dilemma in the past? My resume right now is red hot out there. I've been emailing it to a lot of companies and still hope to make other contacts in person through upcoming job fairs, but when the time comes, soon I hope, for me to interview, how would I proceed and handle NF2 and the ins. that I need to continue the medical care that I've had? I've been working co-ops, but that was ok, bc I was still able to keep my medicare, but, my NF2 has plans of it own and right now, it's not as "stable" as it was in the past. I want to use my degree, but I'm not sure the steps to take or the things to watch for when I go job hunting or accept an offer. What do you think?

Thanks very much

Greg

[Guest guest]

We all think has run off with some Russian woman. NO ONE has heard from , and that includes the people in DC. Marie

Re: Re: question about insurance

Thank you very much for your reply, Donna. I went and spoke with my advisor from school yesterday about this and basically he told me to focus on getting the job first, then talk about insurance. He said that insurance and will always come up in an interview and if you don't like the type they offer, you can always say " no thanks. "

I did forward the question I sent to the Crew, on to , but I haven't heard from him?? Has he disappeared?? Hopefully I'll hear from him soon (but I'm not holding my breath), bc I'm sure he will be able to tell me all I need to know and more on this topic.

Thanks again,

Greg

Greg, I don't think there is any way to find out in advance what insurance a particular company provides (other than if you know someone who works there and can ask them). That is a reasonable question to ask the company when they make you a job offer. Everyone is concerned about health care these days, so companies are probably used to getting asked about this. Read the fine print and make sure they don't pull any punches on the pre-existing condition. I understand that it's supposed to be illegal for you to be denied insurance because of pre-existing conditions, but that doesn't mean they won't try to charge you more for the same coverage. Don't know if this is still happening but we have had stories of people whose insurance companies did exactly that. Larger companies tend to have more than one option. The company Fred works for has at least three different options for the healthcare coverage. At least one PPO, at least one HMO, and something else too if I recall correctly. It does change from year to year, but there are usually 3-5 options. A small company may not be as flexible. If M. were around, he could help you out with this question better. God bless. ...Donna

[Guest guest]

We all think has run off with some Russian woman. NO ONE has heard from , and that includes the people in DC. Marie

Re: Re: question about insurance

Thank you very much for your reply, Donna. I went and spoke with my advisor from school yesterday about this and basically he told me to focus on getting the job first, then talk about insurance. He said that insurance and will always come up in an interview and if you don't like the type they offer, you can always say " no thanks. "

I did forward the question I sent to the Crew, on to , but I haven't heard from him?? Has he disappeared?? Hopefully I'll hear from him soon (but I'm not holding my breath), bc I'm sure he will be able to tell me all I need to know and more on this topic.

Thanks again,

Greg

Greg, I don't think there is any way to find out in advance what insurance a particular company provides (other than if you know someone who works there and can ask them). That is a reasonable question to ask the company when they make you a job offer. Everyone is concerned about health care these days, so companies are probably used to getting asked about this. Read the fine print and make sure they don't pull any punches on the pre-existing condition. I understand that it's supposed to be illegal for you to be denied insurance because of pre-existing conditions, but that doesn't mean they won't try to charge you more for the same coverage. Don't know if this is still happening but we have had stories of people whose insurance companies did exactly that. Larger companies tend to have more than one option. The company Fred works for has at least three different options for the healthcare coverage. At least one PPO, at least one HMO, and something else too if I recall correctly. It does change from year to year, but there are usually 3-5 options. A small company may not be as flexible. If M. were around, he could help you out with this question better. God bless. ...Donna