# Insurance For Fatties?



## MsGreenLantern (Mar 23, 2009)

Okay, I know people have randomly touched on the subject of health coverage before, in many threads, but I am having a hell of a time finding any company who will cover me at my current BMI. I'm at the end of my rope, I think my company insurance just dumped on me as well. It's hard and complicated to get it through the state too, and since I live with my boyfriend I will probably get denied even though we pay all our own bills. I've got health issues, and I'm really paranoid one of them will get out of control before I find some help. I recently told my best friend that I'd rather die than be in debt to a hospital on top of my student loans, car repairs, and mild credit card debt I already have [due to not being able to find a better job]. I don't have enough to pay my bills off now, let alone with a [god forbid] ER visit to add another several thousand uninsured on. It's beyond stressful.

Anyone...does ANYONE have coverage that will take very large people, without it being through a spouses coverage?


----------



## SamanthaNY (Mar 23, 2009)

The only other way I know of is to get coverage through an employer, or if you're in one of the states that provides coverage for people who are self-employed. If you have zero coverage, there are a number of small companies that offer limited coverage that might keep you out of the poor house in the event of a health catastrophe, but I don't know about their requirements - it might be just as bad as any other company. There's also ehealthinsurance dot com, which seems to match people with several different insurance options. There's probably other websites like them, too. It might be worth a look-see. 

There are some other threads that touch on the insurance issue: 

http://www.dimensionsmagazine.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1030698&highlight=insurance#post1030698

U.S. Health Insurance / Prescription Med Costs 

Buying Your Own Health Insurance (this is old, but good as a primer)

This google search may also lead you somewhere. At first glance, there seems to be some positive options, but I would investigate them thoroughly. Scams abound.

Hopefully other people will respond here with some good resources.


----------



## William (Mar 23, 2009)

Hi 

Do you belong to any unions? Associations (childcare??)

William




SamanthaNY said:


> The only other way I know of is to get coverage through an employer, or if you're in one of the states that provides coverage for people who are self-employed. If you have zero coverage, there are a number of small companies that offer limited coverage that might keep you out of the poor house in the event of a health catastrophe, but I don't know about their requirements - it might be just as bad as any other company. There's also ehealthinsurance dot com, which seems to match people with several different insurance options. There's probably other websites like them, too. It might be worth a look-see.
> 
> There are some other threads that touch on the insurance issue:
> 
> ...


----------



## Tracyarts (Mar 23, 2009)

Until I was able to be insured through my husband's employee benefits, I had Blue Cross Blue Shield (as an individual). But, the coverage was very expensive and very limited. I have known other large people to get individual coverage through BC/BS here in Texas as well as people of all sizes who have multiple serious health conditions. But, the costs can be outrageous. I knew a man who was self-employed who had multiple chronic health conditions who paid over two thousand dollars a month just for his monthly premium with BC/BS. Then there was a deductible, copays, and yearly coverage caps. But it was all he could get. I don't know anybody who was turned down outright, but I do know several who were quoted rates that were just simply beyond their means. 

I wouldn't have bothered if I hadn't been afraid to go without insurance. I earned too much to qualify for the county healthcare plan, but didn't earn nearly enough to not have to worry about paying out of pocket if I got really sick or hurt.

Tracy


----------



## MsGreenLantern (Mar 23, 2009)

William said:


> Hi
> 
> Do you belong to any unions? Associations (childcare??)
> 
> William



Nah, no unions or anything. I tried to get healthcare from work since they offer it to anyone over 20 hours a week, but I think I've been turned down by that too, and it was crappy insurance too.

I emailed my county Health dept. to see if I could get a meeting and talk to someone about my options and issues. It would be a small miracle if they helped me.

Thanks for the replies.

Ehealthinsurance is where I realized I was too fat. I applied to like 5 or 6 different companies and was turned down by all for weighing over 250 lbs at 5'4. I'm a young non-smoker. I want coverage damnit!


----------



## William (Mar 23, 2009)

Hi 

I had this site bookmarked

http://covertheuninsured.org/

Their Resource Page

http://covertheuninsured.org/content/resources-uninsured


William




MsGreenLantern said:


> Nah, no unions or anything. I tried to get healthcare from work since they offer it to anyone over 20 hours a week, but I think I've been turned down by that too, and it was crappy insurance too.
> 
> I emailed my county Health dept. to see if I could get a meeting and talk to someone about my options and issues. It would be a small miracle if they helped me.
> 
> ...


----------



## AnnMarie (Mar 23, 2009)

Move to MA! You can't be denied insurance here for prior existing conditions, and there is no scale payment based on weight, etc. 

It's also now mandatory to have health insurance here, so the plans are much more affordable and most are comprehensive (visits, RX, etc). You can get a private policy for anywhere from $125 (basic) to 275 or so (inclusive with regular deductible type things.)

I know it's not a solution, but maybe hopeful that Obama has made it clear he likes the model here and sees this as the way to get more Americans insured.


----------



## MsGreenLantern (Apr 7, 2009)

Glad to announce, I got insurance through my company after all. It's piss-poor, but it's SOMETHING. It's from Aetna, who turning me down due to BMI when I applied by myself. SUCK IT Aetna! So I am slightly less distraught. It's got such a low yearly coverage though, that if something really bad happened and I needed to be hospitalized, I'd still be screwed with bills.


----------

