SWBC takes the hassle out of shopping for individual medical, dental, and vision benefits, saving you both time and money. Now, you can get an individual quote instantly for you and your family. Follow the link below to receive an immediate quote from five national insurance carriers – Cigna, Aetna, Humana, BlueCross BlueShield, and UnitedHealthOne.
Who may need individual health insurance?
- Part-time employees
- Recent graduates or those in between jobs
- Early retirees
- Self-employed individuals
- Recently unemployed individuals paying for COBRA coverage
Why should you use SWBC?
Rates that you receive through SWBC are the exact same quotes you’d receive if you visited each carrier’s site individually; we’ve just compiled them all in one convenient place. However, with SWBC, you have the added value of working with an experienced, knowledgeable consultant to act as your advocate, ensuring you receive the best insurance plan from the best carrier to fit your or your family’s personal needs.
We are professionally passionate about our responsibilities and as a result, you will benefit—both in time and money.
Obtaining A Quote
It only takes about five minutes to enter your information and receive your policy options. However, to make the process even faster and easier, please have the following information available for each person you want to insure.
- Full Name
- Date of Birth
- Approximate Height
- Approximate Weight
- Zip Code where he/she resides
Upon submission of your information, your quotes will instantly be displayed on-screen. The site allows you to compare up to four quotes at a time, allowing you to choose the carrier and coverage that best meets your needs.
Please note that if your desired coverage start date is more than 60 days from today, you may receive only a few policy options because most insurance carriers do not post rates beyond 60 days from the present. You may want to check back often as your desired policy start date nears because more policy options may become available.
In addition, keep in mind that no carriers offer child-only policies. In order to maintain coverage for a child under the age of 18, he/she must be an add-on to a parent’s policy.
Choosing A Plan
The amount of health insurance coverage needed differs by individual. To help you decide the amount of coverage that’s best for you, here are some questions to ask yourself:
- How often do you go to the doctor?
If you regularly make visits to the doctor, pay attention to office visit copays—the amount you will have to pay in order to see your doctor. If you do not frequent the doctor very often, you may want to consider an Health Savings Account plan that does not have a copay.
- Do you take prescriptions regularly?
If you take prescriptions drugs on a regular basis, make sure you review the prescription drug deductible for the plan. Keep in mind that rarely do drug deductibles apply toward generic prescriptions; however, almost all plans have a drug deductible that must be met before the copay kicks in for branded and formulary drugs.
- What can you afford if there is a medical emergency?
This is a very important question to think about. If you have an emergency situation or need surgery, you will be responsible for your deductible—ranging anywhere from $250 to $10,000. You will need to evaluate the amount of out-of-pocket expense that you can afford should an emergency arise; use that information to evaluate what you can afford on a monthly basis versus what you can afford during an emergency.
- Is this health insurance for myself or for me and my family?
You must consider the health all of the individuals that will be covered. A plan that may work for you may not be the best plan for the family as a whole. In addition, most plans have a deductible for individuals and families. Be sure to review the deductibles when evaluating plans.
- Does my family have a history of health problems?
If your family has a history of problems such as heart disease, diabetes, or cancer, you may want to consider a plan with a lower deductible. You may also want to review additional coverage that will pay you directly if you become ill.
We know that this can be an overwhelming task and you may have questions regarding a policy quote or coverage, so we have a dedicated health insurance representative standing by to assist you in finding an option that best fits your needs. Contact a health insurance expert at SWBC to find out how much health insurance coverage is right for you.
Applying For Coverage
Once you’ve chosen a plan, complete the online application process, launched directly from the policy quote screen.
An insurance representative will be in contact with you shortly to confirm your application.
- Deductible - A fixed dollar amount during the benefit period - usually a year - that an insured individual , family, or both pay before the insurance company starts to make payments for covered medical services. Some plans may have separate deductibles for specific services. For example, a plan may have a hospitalization deductible per admission. Deductibles may differ if services are received from an approved provider or if received from providers not on the approved list. Copayments do not apply toward fulfilling the deductible requirement.
- Copayment - Often referred to as a “copay,” this is a form of medical cost sharing in a health insurance plan that requires an insured person to pay a fixed dollar amount when a medical service is received. The insurance company is responsible for the rest of the reimbursement. There may be separate copayments for different services. Some plans require that a deductible first be met for some specific services before a copayment applies.
- Coinsurance - A form of medical cost sharing in a health insurance plan that requires an insured person to pay a stated percentage of medical expenses after the deductible amount, if any, was paid. Once any deductible amount and coinsurance are paid, the insurance company is responsible for the rest of the reimbursement for covered benefits up to allowed charges. The individual could also be responsible for any charges in excess of what the insurance company determines to be “usual, customary and reasonable.” Coinsurance rates may differ if services are received from an approved provider (i.e., a provider with whom the insurance company has a contract or an agreement specifying payment levels and other contract requirements) or if received by providers not on the approved list. In addition to overall coinsurance rates, rates may also differ for different types of services.
- Health Savings Account (HSA) - Accounts that provide a way for individuals to set aside pretax dollars to pay for the their share of health insurance premiums or medical expenses not covered by the health plan. Health savings accounts can be used to cover deductibles, doctors visits, and prescriptions drugs, and unused money in the account can be rolled over from year to year.
- Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plan - An indemnity plan where coverage is provided to participants through a network of selected health care providers (such as hospitals and physicians). The enrollees may elect to visit doctors or other health care providers outside of the network but would incur larger costs in the form of higher deductibles, higher coinsurance rates, or non discounted charges from the providers.
- Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) - A health care system that assumes both the financial risks associated with providing comprehensive medical services (insurance and service risk) and the responsibility for health care delivery in a particular geographic area to HMO members, usually in return for a fixed, prepaid fee. Financial risk may be shared with the providers participating in the HMO.
- Maximum out-of-pocket expense - The maximum dollar amount an individual is required to pay out of pocket during a year. Until this maximum is met, the health insurance provider and individual share in the cost of covered expenses. After the maximum is reached, the insurance carrier pays all covered expenses, often up to a lifetime maximum.
- Usual, Customary, and Reasonable (UCR) charges - Conventional indemnity plans operate based on usual, customary, and reasonable charges. UCR charges mean that the charge is the provider’s usual fee for a service that does not exceed the customary fee in that geographic area and is reasonable based on the circumstances. Instead of UCR charges, PPO plans often operate based on a negotiated (fixed) schedule of fees that recognize charges for covered services up to a negotiated fixed dollar amount.
- Texas High Risk Pool - The Texas Health Insurance Risk Pool helps provide coverage to individuals who have been declined health insurance coverage due to medical conditions. www.txhealthpool.com