Seeking Health Insurance for Husband

There is a free medical clinic in St. Charles staffed by doctors who volunteer their time. There are medications available. www.tchpfreeclinic.com I agree with the others who mentioned that if he has a pre-exhisting condition, like diabetes, it will be very tough to get affordable coverage. Try the state programs.

Hi M.,

Where exactly are you located? I might have some information at home for you (I'm at work).

____@____.com

This guys name is Peter Koppers. He's helped many people I know with all kinds of insurance needs. He finds the best deals for you and then if he finds something you can use, then he gets paid. It's pretty affordable from what I understand.

As far as his diabetes goes...he needs to be doing everything he can to manage it if he isn't. His diet is crucial and I know when people are stressed they tend to throw the diet to the wind. The Diabetic Association has lots of recipes and food choices and helpful info to help....That is if he isn't already doing all those things. Honestly I know a few diabetics and only one actually takes care of himself the way he should...and I think that's all because of his wife.

Hi M.,
I understand your situation. My husband and I are uninsured for the same reason and thankfully our daughter is covered through all kids. There is a non-for profit health center, Lawndale Christian Health Center, www.lawndale.org 773. ###-###-#### located here in the city. It is cheaper to go there and pay out of pocket then it is to have insurance. I believe its about $40 a doctors visit and about 3 weeks wait for new patient maybe sooner. We have only taken our daughter up to this point and have been doing so for the past 1.5 years. The care we receive for her is great and I can't imagine it would be any different for the doctor your husband would see.
If this too far for you maybe there is a place like this closer to you. I hope this is helpful at least for now until he is insured.
I wish all the best to you and your family!
C.

Illinois state law requires every municipality to provide access to neccessary medical care irregardless of ability to pay. Many hospitals manage this by having Wellness clinics or care stations that tend to the services such as those your husband may need without having to go to an emergency room.
Here in the Southwest suburbs the inof source is Little Company of Mary Hospital (they have care Stations all over the place) and the Stickney township health clinic. If you are a resident of the area all services are free.
Check your local health and human services department.

If you are any where near Ingalls Hospital in Harvey there is a clinic behind it called Family Christian Health Center. They are income based with a cap and some of the nicest people you could ever meet. It is a busy place and getting int o a regular doctor take time but they also have a Today Care program that we use rather often (it is sometmes impossible to get into our kids doctor and if we take them we go too if we need to be sen. They do accept insurance and the state programs as well.) Please take care of this!! I have a best friend who is often unable to control her diabetes (un or underinsured and the medicine is soooo expensive)and has had alot of complications becasue of it. If she keeps up we may be get to grow into little old ladies together and that breaks my heart.

If his medical costs are more than 2/3ds of ur income after u acquire the costs in a single month if u reapply I believe u will be approve for that month, I heard its like temp coverage.I hope this helps and any emergency room has to help if his blood sugars are super high I would make a few er visits within a certain month to get some assistance if this is the case. I heard it from a girlfried.

Go to www.ehealthinsurance.com. You can compare costs/benefits and get quotes for many different plans. I have used this site for several years now. I re-evaluate our families insurance at this site on a yearly basis. Good luck!

M.,

I'm so sorry that you are going through this. I really dislike insurance companies as well. I'm not sure where you live, but Mercy Hospital (located at 2525 South Michigan Avenue) has a clinic that accepts self-pay/uninsured patients and charges them based off of a sliding scale.

If he has a pre-ex, it will be hard to buy an individual policy for him that is affordable. The state has ICHIP for those who are denied insurance and FamilyCare for those making up to 185% of federal poverty limit who have dependent children. All Kids is available for uninsured children. If your next open enrollment is january, you might want to get care for him at a community health center that operates on a sliding scale. Access Community Health Centers is the largest in chicago. you can google them and find a location near you. They have diabetes specialists. Other option is to try to find a doc who will charge you a reasonable fee. If it is one issue that doesn't involve too many visits or any hospitalizations, then this will be cheaper than buying insurance. Good luck.

There is a free or much reduced price clinic in Wheaton on Roosevelt Road called Community Health Clinic. I hope this might help you and your husband.

If you can swing it to add him onto your insurance, you do not have to wait until annual enrollment under certain changes in status such as loss of employment/changes from full time to part time status/etc... Contact your benefits administrator to get all the specifics on what is available to you.

With a preex, this is probably your best bet.

It won't help the cost, but if your husband has had a change of status that makes you need to put him on you insurance (lost his job or insurance for example) you usually don't have to wait for open enrollment. If you just wanted to take him off of his work plan and put him on yours, that's what the open enrollments are for. When something else happens, or you have no insurance, check with HR and you might be able to add him any time. As for cost...you could try getting him an independent plan, but that may or may not be cheaper and is often only major medical, so hospitalizations, etc. You need real coverage for Dr.'s visits. Try talking to your employer.

If he's diabetic, it's going to be a lot more costly to not have health care! Have you checked here?: http://www.diabetes.org/advocacy-and-legalresources/insur...

Ugh, I hate dealing with private insurance too. Why do they make it so hard to stay healthy?

I have a guy that I refer our clients to, who specializes in finding the lowest-cost private health insurance for people. His name is Robert Long and his number is ###-###-####. Give him a call and see if he can help you out at all. You should do whatever you can to get at least the most basic amount of coverage to protect your family if he starts accumulating a lot of medical expenses.

Also, I know the budget is tight, but if you don't already have some basic life insurance in place, you may want to start looking at that as well. Diabetes doesn't exclude him from getting life insurance, though it does limit the options a bit. If you need a referral for that as well, let me know.

Best of luck and congrats on the soon-to-be bundle of joy #2!

In downtown Aurora there is this clinic called VNA (Visiting Nurses Association). They charge based on your income. They aren't the best doctors in the world, but they will do durning time sof need. They will also give you medicine and possbily discount the costs associated with it.

My husband's cousin sells some kind of insurance which is supposed to be really good for people who might not normally be able to afford health insurance. Here's what she sent me in an email:

AmeriPlan helps people who cannot afford insurance.

I'm finding there is a DESPERATE need for alternative programs such as this. Her flyer says programs from 19.95 a month.

Her name is Carol Edwards and the toll free number is 800-284-1456.

If you'd like to know more about AmeriPlan, you can go to www.everyonebenefits.com/40624732. Or call 24/7 for recorded explanation
###-###-####
Dental: ext. 69703#
Medical: ext. 80319#