AboutJohn (J.R.) McCollough Expertise I can answer questions pertaining to Health and Medicare insurance for individual and/or family coverage, students, retired/separated military members, small businesses under 20 employees and seniors in the United States.
Additionally, I can assist people in understanding their options if they've been turned down for insurance and do not know about what state and federal programs are available.
Experience I am the owner of a national agency that only attracts agents of the highest caliber to consult in Health, Life and Medicare insurance products. We emphasize a client-centered approach to the way we conduct business and can provide objective input to help you make an informed decision.
Organizations I belong to a variety of professional, consumer and military organizations. Please feel free to contact me if you're interested in a particular organization.
Past/Present Clients I don't divulge information about my clients on the internet due to respect for protecting information. Anybody is more than welcome to contact me if they wish to receive a list of past and current clients in their respective area whom have authorized my agents and/or I to release information.
Hi, here is my problem. My husband is a business owner, and we pay out of pocket for individual health insurance. His business is not big enough to qualify for group rates or programs. We have a 14 month old baby, and we would like to have another one. Problem is everyone has told us in the state of Colorado that when you buy health insurance on your own it doesn't cover maternity at all. Is this true? I don't work, and when we decided to have our son I got a job for 9 months to have maternity coverage. That isn't an option this time around. Is there anything we can do other than just paying for everything out of pocket? We don't qualify for medicaid or anything like that. Thanks.
Answer Hi Taryn,
The people you have spoken to are misinformed and/or lying to you. Colorado does have a few carriers whom offer maternity coverage and there is the state run program "Cover Colorado" (https://www.covercolorado.org).
Cover Colorado pays agents $25 per application, so most agents aren't ecstatic when it comes to recommending them as an option vs. plans in the private market through carriers like Assurant and Golden Rule when the payout is higher. That's just the nature of the beast and any agent would quickly go out of business if all they did was focus on that niche.
You have a few options and here is what I suggest depending upon your budget and needs. Find an agent who knows what he or she is doing. If an agent doesn't know about Cover Colorado that is a big warning flag! Furthermore, a major role of an agent is to assess your risk tolerance and help you find a happy medium...because nothing is perfect.
Get a plan that carriers maternity, so you have access to the network discounts. The average price to have a baby without complications is right around $3-$6K give or take. However, you should think about possible complications (risk assessment). Research neonatal care and you'll see what it means when things don't work out as planned. The last thing you want to do is be on a plan that has limitations and/or exclusions on maternity. If the agent doesn't know the answer to that question and cannot discuss with you potential outcomes it's time to move on.
I assume you and your husband are healthy and want to make the right decisions so you don't overextend yourself while growing your family and business.
You and your husband should look into a Health Savings Account combined with a High Deductible Health plan that "covers" maternity. You will receive 3 tax benefits right off the bat.
Golden Rule is a strong carrier, but you're going to get hit come renewal and they have a LONG waiting period for maternity coverage.
Assurant offers a 3 year rate lock guarantee and they recently lowered there rates 22%-44% in CO. Additionally, the now offer an awesome benefit in which you receive a 10% credit twice a year towards your out of pocket maximum. This is great because it reduces your financial exposure, while making it easier to increase your deductible to save money!
