Personal professional enrollment support is available for all of the benefit plans listed on this page. Send your question by e-mail for fast OnlineAdviser response. Limited telephone support (800) 609-0683. Office hours posted daily on Twitter @FreedomBenefits   Most Liberal Eligibility Value 24 Hour Accident - up to $10,000 of supplemental health insurance coverage for emergency treatment of injuries at a cost of about $2 per day. Can be used as a stand-alone coverage or added to other insurance. Value Emergency Room - add $1,000 additional emergency room coverage for $1 per day for the whole family Most Affordable Secure Lite STM - the lowest priced major medical insurance for 1 to 12 months Secure Saver STM - $2 million maximum coverage for 1-12 months at an ultra-low rate Long Term Major Medical Celticare - well-known renewable individual major medical insurance for discriminating healthy applicants Dental Insurance Secure DentalOne - one lifetime deductible of $100 and then up to $1,250 per year coverage UnitedHealthOne Dental & Vision - national PPO network of more than 73,000 providers Online Life Insurance Great Start Child Life Insurance - inexpensive permanent insurance that can be gifted by parents and grandparents Guarantee Trust term life Insurance - fast, easy and inexpensive online term insurance coverage up to $250,000 International Term Life - up to $2 million coverage issued by Lloyds online specifically for those who spend time outside of the US Smart term life insurance - up to $500,000 coverage directly online without an exam or blood test QuoteIntelligence Term life insurance - find the lowest rates, compare features & eligibility requirements and then apply online with the best insurance companies in less than 30 seconds.

Connecticut health insurance exchange Connecticut has 8 commercial health insurance companies that issue individual health insurance and 19 companies that issue small group insurance as well as 3 state-sponsored health plans for high risk individuals or low income residents. Health Reinsurance of Connecticut Association is the state's high risk insurance pool. These standard policies may be more expensive than some residents can afford. This Web page lists the most popular low cost commercial or supplemental health insurance plans and some related benefit plans. All of these policies offer secure online enrollment and professional OnlineAdviser personal enrollment support. Please note that while many of these choices could be included in more than one of the suggested usage categories, each plan is listed only once for the sake of brevity. Your enrollment adviser is available to discuss suitability of any plan for your specific situation. Connecticut insurance & benefit news Connecticut had the 5th highest health insurance costs of all states in 2008 with an average family premium cost of $13,436 per year. (The average annual premium for a U.S. family covered under an employer-sponsored health plan in 2008 was $12,298 according to The Commonwealth Fund report. The overall quality of health care ranked 8th out of the 51 states (including DC). Connecticut regulates benefits required for both individual major medical and group health insurance plans, known as "mandated benefits". Short Term Insurance Celtic Insurance - competitive rates from a well-known insurer Markel Smart STM - popular and affordable short term major medical insurance with fast online approval Secure STM - along with its 12 month and 36 month options, this may be the highest quality short term coverage Intermediate Term Inbound Immigrant - up to five years of liberal health insurance coverage after immigration including maternity coverage, emergency and other essential benefits Supplemental Insurance Smart Accident Insurance - supplemental coverage for emergency treatment of accidents and injuries for as little as $20 per month. Can be used as a stand-alone accident plan or to increase other insurance benefits. Value Access Guarantee - everyone qualifies for this plan that pays in addition to any other insurance Connecticut Insurance Law The Connecticut Insurance Department Web site contains the complete text of the state's insurance laws offers help for individuals who have unresolved complaints about their insurance. The state compiles information about the nature and resolution of these complaints and publishes an annual report of this information. Connecticut insurance law allows self-employed residents buy group health insurance for a one person business. The state insurance department can be reached by telephone at (860) 297-3800 or by mail at P.O. Box 816 Hartford, CT 06142. The state children's health insurance plan (CHIP) Web site is Connecticut Healthcare for UninSured Kids and Youth (HUSKY). Non-insurance Discount Plans Careington PPO Discount Plans - the nation's leading network PPO discount provider allows a no-risk trial of any discount plan for only a $20 processing fee Drug Card America - a free prescription drug card that an be used nationwide Essential Dental Solutions - simple, inexpensive, no waiting period, up to $500 treatment per year Rx Pay Card - $10, $20, or $30 payments for hundreds of popular prescriptions. See International Coverage and Travel Insurance Listings

Connecticut Insurance News

5/4/2011 A legislative compromise supported by the Governor removes the "public option" from the state health insurance exchange except for municipal government workers. The former proposal would have made the state's health plan available to individuals and small businesses. Although lobbying is likely to continue in support of the public option, political observers say that the measure will ultimately not succeed due to its excessive cost. Other insurance options are less expensive but require that those who go without coverage satisfy a waiting period before the plan pays for pre-existing . The public option through Susti-net, in contrast, would allow residents to enroll only during periods when they have high medical costs. While this concept is popular with consumers, it would lead to a financially unsustainable health plan that would ultimately become the financial burden of the state government.

2/14/2011 Freedom Benefits anticipates an increase in consumer demand for more affordable out-of-state and supplemental medical insurance policies by Vermont's residents in response to a repeal or revision of some of the provisions of SustiNet, the state government's health plan. Both the state government and its primary employers say that the current health plan strategy is unsustainable. Originally SustiNet was intended to bring universal health insurance but now its backers are stymied by higher than expected costs. Some provisions are not consistent with federal law and the Obama administration is resolved to enforce the new federal law. We will announce new insurance choices in the state as they become available. 

2/12/2011 With dozens of health plans choices available online offering a wide range of pricing and benefits, how do you find the best combination of price and benefits? Celtic Insurance realizes that the choices can be overwhelming; the company offers more than 40 possible health plan designs in many parts of the United States. A new feature called "Help Me Choose" lets users easily and quickly select the benefits they value most and narrows the list down to a few of the best choices. No personal information is required other than zip code and date of birth.

12/16/2010 Officials from the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management met representatives of 44 other states and numerous employees of the federal Health and Human Services Department in Washington DC this week for a two-day working meeting to discuss the next steps in establish a government-run health insurance exchange under the American Health Benefit Exchange Model Act. Their attendance at this meeting was paid for by a $1 million federal grant awarded by HHS in September to the state for research how to set up an insurance exchange. Two states (Alaska and Minnesota) declined to participate, saying that it was a waste of taxpayer money. Four other states (not identified in press reports) that received federal grants did not send representatives to the meeting. Attendees included representatives of 16 states that are suing the federal government in an attempt to overturn the federal health reform law; specifically the requirement that forces individuals to buy health insurance on the insurance exchange or pay a hefty tax fine.

In its initial federal grant request for the insurance exchange project, Connecticut Office of Policy and Management said that it would: 1) Conduct market research and Information Technology infrastructure assessments to understand the effects and implications of different policy decisions that may direct the implementation strategy, 2) Research and analyze existing data and obtain newly-collected data to assess the health insurance market and the uninsured population, 3) Conduct economic and actuarial modeling to study various policy issues that would impact the design and implementation of the Exchange, 4) Survey the small employer and health insurance markets, 5) Assess the impact of insurance reforms on premiums, 6) Analyze the local marketplace to determine whether the individual and the small group markets should be combined or separate within the Exchange, 7) Analyze the size of the small employer market segment that should start participating in the Exchange (either 1-50 employees or 1-100 employees), 8) Determine the advantages and disadvantages of a Connecticut statewide Exchange versus a multi-state Exchange, 9) Engage in stakeholder dialogue to ensure an accurate and consistent message is being communicated (includes individuals, employers, providers, legislators, insures, etc.), 10) Assess the existing Medicaid system and the interface with the Exchange information technology infrastructure required as well as specifications for the accounting and financial system of the Exchange, 11) Develop a financial model to determine administrative fees necessary for financial self –sustainability of the Exchange; and 12) Develop legislation to create the governance structure of the Connecticut Exchange.

The meeting reportedly did not address the role of the commercial health insurance exchanges on the implementation of new competing government systems. The model act does not address inter-state insurance exchange proposals nor insurance sales across state lines. Federal officials admitted that they may not be able to provide further guidance until 2012. Meanwhile, most states are motivated to continue to meet requirements to obtain additional funding promised by the federal government for the establishment of insurance exchange by 2014. Freedom Benefits has previously voiced the opinion that the huge amount of money being spent to set up alternate insurance sales system technologies could be better used providing health benefits to the public. We proposed on the Universal Health Insurance blog that adequate commercial insurance sales systems are already in place that could be modified in a public/private partnership to make health insurance more affordable.

5/14/2010 Diabetes Coverage: A new resource to help find health insurance for diabetics in Connecticut is now available at Freedom Benefits.

3/23/2010 A bill has been proposed to expand the current requirement that a health plan provide the evidence and information that were considered in the denial of a claim.

 All material is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the opinion of Freedom Benefits Association or any other person or entity mentioned. All information is from sources believed to be true, but cannot be guaranteed.