Selecting a health insurance plan (for small business)?

[NewSc2]

My mom and I run a small importing business. She has her own personal health insurance, which the company reimburses a large portion back to her for, but it's pretty expensive (Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO I think) -- about $550/mo.

Her deductibles are high, and at one point she was spending about $300 a month on prescription medication, and the insurance company was giving her the run around on her brand Rx deductible. And I'm currently uncovered, so I looked into a few providers and agents and saw some better deals.

I have no experience in dealing with HMO's, but the Kaiser Permanente HMO plans on the table are much cheaper than the PPO plans, and have much lower premiums and deductables. The thing is, she has Hepatitis B (it's pretty controlled, from what I know), and I have pretty sensitive allergies/sinuses here and there, and I was wondering how an HMO would approach our care.

I've heard horror stories about HMO care, but most of my friends are on them and haven't really run into any problems.

Can anybody out there offer some advice? Or are there any small business owners out there that have made these decisions before?

Also, I've been hearing things regarding pre-existing conditions. I don't believe our agent quoted our prices knowing that my mom had Hepatitis B -- would our premium be affected once they find out?

EDIT: FWIW, I'm 25 and she's 55. We're in California -- Orange County to be exact.

 

[onlyCOpunk]

If anything, they will charge you more for the preexisting condition. Or choose not to provide cover. They'll basically take a look at your past medical history and calculate based on statistics what it is going to cost them to cover.

Thing is, you must be completely honest with them when you sign up for cover, because ultimately if they find one thing wrong they can drop your insurance in an instant. Like say you forgot to mention you had chicken pox when you were three and you get diagnosed with cancer, they can use that chicken pox as an excuse to drop you.

If I were you I would get in contact with as many companies as you can because all will tell you different stories and it's best to know the full spectrum before you make a choice.

 

[PingSpike]

I've never really had a problem with HMO plans, which is what I've always had. Any doctor I wanted to use was in the network. I kind of think the HMO thing is overblown, but maybe its different elsewhere.