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[Roger Austin <raustin3 AT nc.rr.com>]

Michael Czeiszperger wrote:
> I'm playing $174/month for individual coverage under BlueAdvantage at 
> age 41.
>
> I just talked to an insurance agent yesterday about a group plan for my 
> small business, and they recommended against it.  With a true "group 
> plan" your rates are determined by, among another things, the costs in 
> your group, which means in a group of 5 people if someone gets seriously 
> ill your rates could skyrocket. The BlueAdvantage plan, on the other 
> hand, is really a group of 250,000, so your rates are much less likely 
> to be affected by the health of an individual.

 There is an article in the N&O today on health insurance
that discusses high risk insurance issues.
<http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/2163868p-8545309c.html>

 The agent may be correct in your case now. The problem is that
individual plans can be dropped at the drop of a hat. Would you
be dropped from BlueAdvantage after you have a large payout. For
example, what if you were found with a mild cancer and were
completely cured. Would your cost be the same or would you
find that they have dropped your coverage?
 All insurance plans are in some type of "group". The
companies combine all their plans together to calculate their
exposure and resell plans in financial instruments.
 When you are young and without much risk, the insurance
companies love to quote you low rates. If you have any condition
that might make you high risk, they are most likely going to
quote a ridiculous rate. Note that they didn't turn you down,
they just made it so expensive that you can't afford it.

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