Health Insurance While Fulltiming

As a fulltime RVer, I am often asked about health insurance, especially since we are not covered by a company sponsored plan and are too young for Medicare. The simplest answer which applies to fulltimers and non fulltimers alike: if you want health insurance, buy it. I know, I know, if it were only that simple.

Fulltimers are a unique bunch. Most of us do not stay in one place for an extended period of time. That's why we became fulltimers to begin with...to travel and experience this beautiful country of ours. Thus, it is important to have health insurance coverage throughout America. Also, as we all know, health insurance isn't cheap. It is wise to do lots of research before signing on the dotted line. Another major consideration is pre-existing conditions. I will discuss how we dealt with each of these issues.

When we decided to become fulltimers and would need a personal policy, we contacted Blue Cross/Blue Shield (BCBS), since we had been covered by them in past. We learned that through their Blue Card program, we can have medical coverage throughout the country. That was a definite plus. Also, since we were currently covered by BCBS through our company, the pre-existing condition clause could be waived. (We had no pre-existing conditions, but that could be really important for other folks.)

Now to the price...the internet is a wonderful thing! I went to the BCBS website, put in our birth dates and zip code and got an instant quote. I wondered what would happen if I had a different zip code. I put in other zip codes and noticed the monthly premium amount changed, sometimes higher, sometimes lower. Interesting....

During this same time we were researching which mail forwarding company to use, and were considering one located in Pensacola, FL. I put in that zip code to check the premium amount. I couldn't believe it: the monthly premium in Marathon, FL was $580; in Pensacola, it was just $151...the same exact coverage! Keep in mind this was in 2000, and our premium has increased each year.

Last year when we received notice that our 2007 monthly premium would be over $400, we knew we had to look at other options. One option, that really isn't an option for us at all, is to go without health insurance. That's a risk we just can afford. So, I began to research HSAs, Health Savings Accounts. After studying lots of material and making some phone calls, we enrolled in a High Deductible, HSA Qualified Insurance Plan with BCBS. We opted for $5,000 deductible (which is what we had before the HSA qualified policy) and a monthly premium of $250. At HSA Bank, we funded our HSA which will help us come tax time.

We are fortunate in that we are healthy. We exercise and watch what we eat (most of the time)to try and stay that way. We haven't had a real need for health insurance. But, I sure do sleep better at night knowing that we have it, just in case.

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