Oregon Health Insurance Policy
Reader’s Question:
The company where I work is expanding and will be offering health insurance benefits to its tenured employees like me in Oregon. I work at the HR department and I’m being asked to shop around for health insurance policies in Oregon. What should I look for?
Lorie
Eugene, OR
You can have a wide array of choices, Lorie.
And your choice really depends on the composition of your company’s employees, general choice of doctors, costs, or balance between doctor choice and affordable cost. However, you should also watch out for other health insurance plans would offer low monthly premiums but with potentially higher exposure to out-of-pocket costs in Oregon.
Free-for-service plans are usually the best option if you weigh more for choice of doctors. This gives you the most flexibility among the most types of group health insurance. Some health insurance companies call this indemnity plan, which allows you to choose your doctor or hospital with minimal or no restrictions. It can even allow you to even consult a specialist of your choice. Although, it can also be costly and might not cover all medical services, checkups, and preventive care plus it will burden you with lots of paperwork.
HMOs are the best choice for lower costs. Total costs are usually lower than the fee-for-service plans and can include a wide range of services like preventive care and checkups. Paperwork is also not a problem during medical appointments. The downside is that choice of providers can be restricted with HMOs, and doctors would always be pre-approved by the HMO provider.
I can also suggest another type called PPO, which has a good balance between doctor choice and affordable overall cost. There are also HMOs with POS option which can give you offers which are as good as PPO.
Eugene OR Health Insurance Application
Reader’s Question:
I am planning to apply for an individual health insurance plan in Eugene Oregon. Can you give me hints on the application process?
Adrian
Eugene, OR
Great option, Adrian!
The process of application for an Oregon individual health insurance policy cannot be made any simpler, but it is usually the standard procedure for most health insurance companies. It can be normal for you to undergo an underwriting process if you apply for an individual health insurance policy in Eugene OR. This is simply a way for the health insurance company to weigh the risks that it will be taking in covering you for health insurance. Expect that in this stage, you will be asked for information regarding your health status and any history of medical condition in your family. If you will include your family, their health conditions will also be asked. Most questions will be relevant queries like any current and past medical conditions, medication use, hospitalizations, any pregnancy, drug use, alcohol or tobacco use, history of rejection by any insurance provider, age, height and weight proportions (to detect obesity which is a common health risk), location (like hurricane prone areas), employment information (to see any hazardous occupations that can pose risk to life, and driving record (to check if you are prone to accidents). During the underwriting process, you might be required for blood, urine, and saliva samples, certificate of health status from your doctor, and medical records from your hospital visits and doctor visits.
Some may find this process intrusive, and you might think: Can you refuse to provide these pre requisite sets of information? Unfortunately, if you refuse to undergo proper underwriting, the insurance provider might refuse to give you coverage too.
Cancer Life Insurance Oregon OR
Reader’s question:
I have heard about high risk pool in Oregon for those who are uninsurable like me. I have a terminal cancer. What does it take for me to be eligible?
Sarah
Beaverton, OR
I hope you’re doing great, Sarah.
There are more reasons for you to be happy because I think it will be easy for you to be qualified for a health insurance for the high-risk pool. As this is really intended for those who have a pre-existing condition like you and are already uninsurable by private insurance companies in Oregon, all you have to do is to prove your circumstances to be qualified. There can be many ways to be eligible for this government program such as proof of notice of rejection from a health insurance company, notice of benefit reduction or specific condition exclusion, or notice of premium rate increase or surcharge. You can also bring medical evidence that you have an existing qualifying condition, which in your case is cancer.
Not all states have high-risk pool program, so you have to verify if there is in Oregon. I believe there are only 30 states that have this program. And if you are lucky to have in Oregon, then you will be among the 175,000 Americans who are qualified for health insurance coverage under the high-risk pool program. However, be advised that this privilege is fairly higher that the regular private health insurance premiums. It is because of the special health care needs of people with medical condition like diabetes, cancer, AIDS, mental health, and others.
You can start moving now for your health insurance coverage under high-risk pool since some states have enrollment caps and enrollment limits according to the available funds.
Cheap Life Insurance Oregon OR
Reader’s Question:
I am a health buff. I go to the gym everyday and watch my diet carefully. I am an athlete, so I hardly get sick and is always on the go. What is the cheapest life insurance policy with regards to my health condition? I live in Oregon.
Christopher
Beaverton, OR
That’s great, Christopher!
Maybe we can go to the gym together, huh?
With regards to your life insurance in Oregon, there is a big chance that you will get a ‘preferred rate’ which is the cheapest life insurance any insurance company can offer. Of course, you need to undergo several health check before a life insurance company can grant you this premium rate.
To avail of the cheapest life insurance policy mean you have to submit yourself to underwriting. You will be undergoing a one-on-one interview with a health professional and an underwriter who work for the life insurance company. You will be asked regarding your health status, your family’s medical history, any ailments you had in the past, and activities that you do. This can be quite intruding for some people, but life insurance companies do this as a prerequisite before they grant the cheapest life insurance policy to an applicant.
During the underwriting process, you might be required to submit stool and urine samples for a laboratory verification of any infectious disease which can manifest in your samples. A follow through is normally done over the phone to check whether or not the information you gave during the underwriting process is accurate.
It is as simple as saying that the healthiest person who does not have any dangerous occupation and activities is deemed to live longer, the reason why they are the one’s given the cheapest life insurance. Who knows, you might just be one of them!
Compare Life Insurance Oregon OR
Reader’s Question:
I understand that term life insurance policy is the cheapest life insurance policy in the market, but are there different types? I live in Oregon.
Meg
Eugene, OR
Absolutely, Meg.
A term life insurance policy usually differs with the amount of premiums paid over time. It can either be a level term life or increasing term life.
A level term life would require you to pay a fixed premium over a period of time. This could prevent you from paying higher premiums in your subsequent payments. On the other hand, an increasing term policy increases premiums over subsequent payment by a set percentage or retail price index.
You might wonder why anyone would choose an increasing term life over a level term life? It is mainly because of the possible inflation after the death of the policy holder. If there is inflation, there is a risk of having reduced benefits for the family after death of the policyholder with level term life. An increasing term life protects your family from the effects of inflation.
Another type that I should mention is the convertible term life insurance policy. From the term itself, it can be converted to a whole life insurance policy in the future.
The good thing nowadays is that you can conveniently compare rates of insurance in Oregon that suits your needs over the internet. Normally you are required to enter your age, needed amount as coverage and type of policy. To start your search, all you have to do is to enter your zip code on the space provided for on this page.
Life Insurance Oregon OR
Reader’s Question:
My husband died in 2001. I wasn’t aware that he had any life insurance policy until 2 months ago. Is there a time limit in filing insurance claim? We live in Eugene, Oregon.
Anne
Eugene, OR
No. I’ve not heard of such a time limit for claim in Oregon in case of life insurance policy.
I only know of a time frame towards filing claims for disability or critical illness, which is generally 30 to 90 days of the policy holder’s disability or illness.
For filing a life claim by a beneficiary, the reimbursement procedure may demand the policy-holder’s death certificate, age of proof, claim form describing the beneficiary, and physician’s certificate from the doctor who checked or treated the policy holder.
Be aware though that definitely, there is no hard and fast time limit for you to claim. In your case, since you have not claimed your benefits for along time, you are entitled to an accumulated interest for the death benefit, depending on the type of life insurance your late husband has. It may also be in the form of dividends plus interest if the policy happens to be a participating plan.
Talk to your late husband’s life insurance company in Oregon so you can get more information regarding your specific situation. Just secure the document requirements so the net proceeds will be given to you.
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