Health Insurance

[GeoHiker]

Im planning on a thru starting this march, and was curious what people did for health insurance? Im quitting my job, so i wont have insurance through them, but did not know if the ATC or anyone covers the whole trail. thoughts please

[wrongway_08]

Havent ever had any. Didnt have any for the hike. Didnt need it.

Heard of some people buyn short term ins. (6 months) but thats money that could be spent on food.

[SGT Rock]

You could just have some money saved in case. I imagine what you would pay for just the coverage or 6 months would pay for a few doctor visits as you need them.

[TrippinBTM]

My health insurance was a baggie of ibuprofen, common sense, and a prayer. I guess it still is, since I still can't afford it. But I'm so fed up with the whole medical-pharmaceutical complex that I'm almost against the whole idea of insurance.

[TnSlowPoke]

The first time that I went on any hike I got health insurance from the people that had my car insurance. Righ It was a big rip off .... and I did not need it.....

[garlic08]

Or do a web search for cheap major medical with a large deductible. For a 20-something, it might be pretty cheap.

[fiddlehead]

This subject has been debated hot and heavy on WB many times.
Try a search on the subject.

[J5man]

Everyone needs some type of very basic coverage to cover any catstrophic event that might happen. Mainly to cover any hospital visits. Get the cheapest thing they have that woud cover a bad accident that woud send you to the hospital. Anthem, United, etcc....the major players will have these types of policies. THey will not cost that much. Just keep the bells and whistles off. I am sure if you needed to see a doctor somwwhere along the trail and you offered to exchange his care for somekind of labor, you could work at a deal. A trip to the doctor's office wont' break you but a trip to the ER could.

[DavidNH]

Im planning on a thru starting this march, and was curious what people did for health insurance? Im quitting my job, so i wont have insurance through them, but did not know if the ATC or anyone covers the whole trail. thoughts please


First, look at going on COBRA (in this program you keep the health insurance you had through your company for up to 18 months, only trouble is you have to pay full fare---probably about 300+ a month). This is what I did for my hike.

Beyond that, you could look at individual plans (BCBS and others) or pick up a six month temporary plan. The cost is dependant on whether you are healthy and not overweight. If you are a smoker, forget about cheap plans.

The last option is to take your chances in going on a five to six month hike with NO health insurance plus how ever long it will take to get a job and health insurance again. This is VERY risky. you can get injured or sick or any number of things. It wont take much of a hospital stay to wipe you out. We are probably the only major democracy in the world where this is even an issue. Every one else covers their citizens. I hope we can fix this soon but for now, this is a sad fact of life in America.

David

[Desert Reprobate]

Check on the price of continuing your current insurance thru COBRA when you leave your job.

[Panzer1]

If you can afford health insurance get it. If you can't afford health insurance, don't get it. Its that simple.

Panzer

[bigboots]

I am probably going to do Cobra through by employer (even though I am "quitting"). It comes out to just over $800 for 6 months.

[sbennett]

I am probably going to do Cobra through by employer (even though I am "quitting"). It comes out to just over $800 for 6 months.

That actually sounds like a pretty good deal in light of how much HI can cost for an individual plan.

[Nest]

Yeah. That's close to what mine would have been a month when I quit my job to thru last year.

I just went insuranceless last year. Actually I am still uninsured since I am only part time. Then I will hike uninsured this year on my thru. I think insurance is just a pessimistic way to live. Not really but that's what I tell myself.:rolleyes:

[Sue_Bird]

Felt like I should chip in...

Seems to me you'll be fine...unless you break your leg/ankle/get so dehydrated you go to the ER.

Here's a little example: As a registered nurse, when I push any IV medication (ANY IV medication which mostly I feel like I do all day long...), that's an $80 "nursing medication administration" fee on your hospital bill. NOT $80 for the medication, that's $80 for having the privilege of having me, your nurse, adminster the medication. And, let's just say as another example, that you had really bad belly pain for a day or two and went to the ER. Giargia? maybe. But some ER doc might think to himself, "let's do a CT scan, just in case to make sure it's not the appendix." that's in the ballpark of $1500. Even if you had a little unplanned trail romance and went to the ER for a morning after pill, that's generally about a $500 visit.

My point? Sure, the most common things that probably come in from the AT are sprained/broken ankles/legs etc, which are relatively easy to fix. That's still at least, at LEAST, a few hundred dollars, out of pocket, if you have no health insurance.

I'm planning on getting a barebones plan for my upcoming thru, which you can get as cheap as around $50 a month. No primary care, but it's only 6 months. And you can come find me if you have any primary care questions. :sun

-SueBird-

[wrongway_08]

$500.00 for a morning after pill? Condoms aee only $10.00 for 12??? Whats going on there?

[TrippinBTM]

damn good point, wrongway.

[Monkeywrench]

I will be getting a high deductible, low (relatively) premium policy. The idea is to avoid being wiped out in the case of some catastrophic illness that lands me in the hospital for an extended stay. I expect -- and hope -- that I will never collect a penny on it, but it would be foolish to risk losing my life's savings because I had no insurance at all.

[Speer Carrier]

Everyone needs some type of very basic coverage to cover any catstrophic event that might happen. Mainly to cover any hospital visits. Get the cheapest thing they have that woud cover a bad accident that woud send you to the hospital. Anthem, United, etcc....the major players will have these types of policies. THey will not cost that much. Just keep the bells and whistles off. I am sure if you needed to see a doctor somwwhere along the trail and you offered to exchange his care for somekind of labor, you could work at a deal. A trip to the doctor's office wont' break you but a trip to the ER could.

Don't count on a work exchange for medical care. Your chances of running into that kind of a deal are very slim.

[Panzer1]

I will be getting a high deductible, low (relatively) premium policy. The idea is to avoid being wiped out in the case of some catastrophic illness that lands me in the hospital for an extended stay.

Just watch, if the deductible is too high, you can still be wiped out by the deductible.

Panzer

[rickb]

Just watch, if the deductible is too high, you can still be wiped out by the deductible.

Panzer

Even if you have $100K in spare change, you could get wiped out by getting some life-long condition (heart disease, etc.) if you have a policy that can't be easily renewed at that rate you were paying when you were relatively healthy.

Or renewed at all. I think that is a big issue with some of the temporary and/or cheap policies.

Having a policy that covers all the costs associated with your first heart attack will be small comfort if you can't get covered for all the costs you will likely see in the years to follow, before Medicare kicks in.

One's age, history and assets really come into play when charting the best course. Everyone's situation is different.

Massachusetts has some new laws that really help an individual getting access to a wide range of "real" policies, I think. Not great, but much better than in other places.

[Toolshed]

Okay...
So first you have to do several things:

1. Assess your current health at your age.
If you are relatively young (20's) and of robust health, you probably do not need health insurance for the time being - Especially if you believe that when you come off the trail, you will end up in an organization that provides employer-based health coverage. Since the onset of more serious illnesses and disease states tend to occur (or be diagnosed) later in life, unless you know of something looming in your near future, you are probably better off keeping your money in the bank.

2. Take a risk assessment of yourself - Do yo feel you need a safety net for everything you do in other areas of your life? Or are you willing to take a risk?

3. Are you Female or Male. Women tend to utilize medical/lab/RX care more frequently and and at much younger ages than men do. If you are female, and/or perhaps/less risk averse and you wish continue some form of basic coverage...

4. Assess your state of mind - Are you a normally positive upbeat person, or are you dark and dreary? Do "things" just seem to happen to you?
Are you a klutz or do you have a history of breaking bones or spraining or Straining muscles/ligaments.

Only you can make the decision, but you need to weigh all factors after you assess yourself in these areas.

If you do decide to go the route of insurance, make sure that the plan you select has articulation agreements with other plans along your course of travel. You don't want to end up with a local plan in Indiana and find every singly health care facility on the eastern seaboard is out of network.

For insurance, usually your traditional Blues plans that offer a simple major medical is sufficient - This is the "catastrophic coverage that you might hear about. Simply put, it offers no frills coverage and is usually a pretty wide open network. You might have a $1K-2.5K deductible before coverage kicks in at 80/20 Copay (you pay 20% of all costs after the deductible period - Usually the Term "Cost" means what the insurance company will pay the health care facility for a specific diagnostic group, not what the facility bills - Which might be much higher).
The Nice thing about the blues plans is that their physician, specialist and hospital networks, regardless of geography usually have transparent to the patient (Eligible members of other blues plans access the facilities at the same negotiated rate as the local blues plan - If you have BCBS of Idaho, Wellmark, then you are basically covered in NJ through Horizon BCBS Network at the same rates as Idaho).

Don't fall for the first plan you come across or some slick salesman or saleswomen up-selling you or giving you something that you don't understand. If you have questions on the policy, I'd be glad to decipher it and explain in simple layman's terms, what your coverage is. I have done it for others on the board and would be glad to help you.

Hope this helps..... Also do a search here on health care and you will find many other older threads on the topic

[emerald]

Can anyone be assured of not contracting Lyme disease or not falling even once on an A.T. through hike? Improbable events happen every day.

[Toolshed]

Can anyone be assured of not contracting Lyme disease or not falling even once on an A.T. through hike? Improbable events happen every day.
Higher deductible Traditional indemity coverage won't cover lyme. I would imagine an extremely slight number of falls would actually require a hospital visit or hospital stay.

[emerald]

A good case can be made for an A.T. through hike when covered by a parent's insurance policy and before repayment of debt accumulated in the course of obtaining a college education begins.

Another good time to hike is when changing one's employer or career once one has accumulated sufficient assets to continue coverage under COBRA.

Some take a chance by waiting until retirement, but not everyone has the health necessary to hike when their time comes.

For many, keeping one's job and insurance while section-hiking makes sense and provides a journey that lasts a lifetime. Section-hikers enjoy many advantages over through hikers, but that's a topic discussed before too and more appropriate for another thread.

[emerald]

Higher deductible Traditional indemity coverage won't cover lyme.

I had a Lyme test recently, but I can't find the bill right now. If I can find it, I'll plug in the cost here. Maybe someone else has had one recently and can post the cost. It wasn't inexpensive.


I would imagine an extremely slight number of falls would actually require a hospital visit or hospital stay.

Falls that don't require a trip to the ER are dealt with less expensively elsewhere. How might one know the difference and avoid unnecessary costs when travelling?

[GeoHiker]

Thanks everyone, Toolshed your input was great. I have decided to go with the insurance. Even though i am young (25) and in shape, I have had a number of sports related injuries to my hip, knee, ankles. I appreciate every ones input and the discussion. Hope to see yall on the trail. im planning on starting mid march

[mistiaggie]

Interesting read. I had posted a topic in Straight Forward but am glad to see a discussion here. I hope to read more!

Thanks!

[unclemjm]

I've been out of the insurance biz for several years so any info I give may be outdated, however, when I was doing that work, there were frequently folks needing short term temporary policies for one to six months. Such policies were much less expensive than any COBRA option.

I suggest doing a google search using key words "short term major medical health insurance" and see what you find.

It would also be worth a call to a local insurance agent and ask about rates.

And then, take advantage of Toolshed's offer to translate policy language into English.