Health Care
Hi everyone. I have followed this board for a while and have been impressed by the good info being passed along. Now it is my turn for a post....
We are moving to St. Thomas on July 3rd and everything appears to be set. One last issue to be resolved is health insurance. Can anyone provide information about how best to obtain it and the companies to avoid or seek out? I am joining a startup on the island so we all have to find insurance. Should I try the Chamber of Commerce?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Aaron
Yes, do contact the STTSJ Chamber of Commerce, (340)776-0100. I don't have details but I understand from friends that they have a reasonable deal for small business and individual members who would otherwise have a difficult time finding affordable health insurance. Good luck!
Dear Aaron,
The Chambers of Commerce on either St Croix or St Thomas/St John do not offer health coverage. However, some of the insurance carriers waive their administrative fees for chamber members. United HealthCare for example charges a $25 monthly administrative fee on their small group plans. This monthly fee is waived if the insured is a chamber member for a savings of $300 per year.
An option we recommend to individuals just arriving on island is to apply for COBRA continuation with your current carrier. You can continue this coverage for up to 18 months and it gives you plenty of time to shop the coverage best for you and your family.
There are a limited number of health insurance carriers in the VI. United HealthCare offers small group coverage for companies with 2 or more employees while CIGNA and Mapfre Insurance,(formerly Canada Life) require 10 or more employees. There are also two carriers which offer individual coverage, Amedex Worldwide Insurance and Atlantic Southern Insurance.
Most all of the insurance agencies in the VI are licensed with all or most of these carriers. I hope this is helpful, welcome to the islands. Carl
Carl - This is enormously helpful. Thank you!
I far as I could find out Amedex is the only carrier that is in network for the VI and PR.
Their policy offers reasonable coverage. We are paying $5,200 a year for a couple (baby boomers ). This is for a $5,000 per person deductible and includes drug coverage.
On STT Marshall Sterling acts as an agent for them.
Jim
Based on information posted in a thread waaaaay back, I contacted American Medical Plans, an insurance company on STT. Spoke to an incredibly helpful woman there named Terrie, who was quite patient in describing to me the various plans available - $$s seemed reasonable, including several Amedex plans. Anyone have any experience with American Medical Plans?
aeblackphd: their # is 340-773-8658.
Man, this board is awesome! Do you all realize how much time you are saving us? Thank you thank you thank you!
I contacted an insurance agent on StX for plans. The person was very helpful and sent a packet to me priorty mail on a few options. Ours ended up being 600 month for two with a 500 deductible, inc the air ambulance. I will edit with name later...
Looking forward to seeing the name...thanks 🙂
Just to qualify, I didn't say that the Chamber directly offered an affordable program. It was my understanding that both individuals and small business owners who belonged to the Chamber of Commerce could find, via their membership, special deals. My apologies for not being more specific!
Eve. If at all possible could you pm me with the name and number?
thank you very much
Sorry for the delay...
The man's name is Mr. Downer at Gotts and Assoc at 340.719.4065.
As I said he was very helpful in getting us estimates quickly. Mr. Gotts in his post told me the same thing as Mr. Downer about the Chamber. I will be calling to go over the policys in more depth with Mr. Downer today and will let all know if I was reading the info correctly later on this evening.
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