You should contact a representative from a reputable health insurance carrier to obtain a quote. By reputable, I mean a company that has an A+ rating and has been selling health insurance for 20+ years. I like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna and Humana. Blue Cross Blue Shield may go by a different name in your area. Where I live it is BCBS Anthem. Avoid companies that sell "illness" or "disability" specific polices like Afflec and companies who have recently started selling "affordability" individual health insurance like Mega. Both companies have a list of non-covered services that is longer than the list of covered services.
All of the well-known insurance carriers have at one time or another had difficult negotiations with certain hospital and/or physician groups that you hear about in the media. That doesn't mean you shouldn't get a quote from them. They might not be perfect companies but they are the best we have at this point.
A representative from one of the reputable companies will not pressure you into purchasing because with 47 million uninsured Americans, they have plenty of applications. You want to purchase a policy that you can afford and that will pay benefits when you need them. It is a complicated process and having a representative you trust is certainly helpful
There is no reason not to apply with multiple companies. Go to website of BCBS and Aetna. Some of the websites will give you an estimate premium immediately while others have to complete the online application and contact you with the premium rates. If you don't want to talk with an insurance representative, ask him or her to mail you the quotes. If they won't, get another representative.
You will need to complete a health questionnaire. Based on your health questionnaire, your request for coverage could be denied or you may have to wait 12 months before an existing health condition is covered. (I wouldn't let that stop you from purchasing coverage because 12 months goes by very quickly.) The younger you are the better premium you will receive; being female raises the premium because on average women seek medical care much more frequently than men. If you want to include maternity coverage and/or mental health coverage that will increase your premium as well.
I don't know in your area but in the Midwest to obtain a policy for less than $100 a month it would be a plan with a very high deductible and probably no prescription coverage or coverage of generic medications only. A plan with Anthem with a $5000 annual deductive, no maternity coverage, no mental health coverage and coverage for only generic drugs for a male age 41 is $52.50 per month. Although this deductible is high, if this male were to suffer a heart attack or develop cancer, medical expenses costing $5000 would easily incur within a month. The policy benefits this person if they have investments or property that they don't want to lose when medical expenses start climbing to $10,000, $25,000 and on and on. They also benefit because they are insured and won't have to find physicians and hospitals that treat the uninsured. That would be very important to you. The majority of medical provides set up payment plans and charge no interest so in the event of a health crisis, you won't have to worry about bills and you will receive quality health care.
In addition, when you are coverage by a reputable carrier, i.e. Aetna) they have negotiated rates with preferred providers. That means that although you are subject to a large deductible, the amount the charged by physicians and hospitals in the preferred network are substantially higher than if you were uninsured (this isn't fair but it is the way our existing health care system works).
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