Health Insurance: Looking Back -- And Ahead
Chas Sforza, 50, Feels Locked in After a Heart Attack
Each year, many of us make choices about our health insurance. See how life and their health plans affected some people this year and how that will reflect in 2008 selections. We'll check back with some of them in the coming year to see how their choices work out. Select an image to the left to read more. | |||||||||||
The owner of an IT consulting firm, Chas Sforza tested his Anthem BlueCross BlueShield policy -- a PPO -- last year when he had a heart attack. The South Riding resident came through -- and so did the policy, which he bought in the individual market. Sforza's plan has a $300 deductible and pays 20 percent of medical bills up to $1,500 a year. At that point, "they pay 100 percent," he says. Sforza said he had no complaints with the coverage. The only hitch: Given his recent health history, he can no longer pick and choose plans. "I can't change policies, I can't get an HSA," or health savings account, he said. The reason: He would have to go through underwriting, where your health history often determines whether you can get coverage and at what price. Younger, healthier people are at an advantage cost-wise. Those who are sick commonly are denied coverage. Increasingly, experts say, insurers also are denying coverage for those with common conditions such as high blood pressure and even hay fever. "On Oct. 1, my rate [went] up" from $334 a month to $410, Sforza said. He decided against increasing his deductible, because he wouldn't be able to lower it again without having to go through underwriting. His grade: B | |||||||||||
