“Mini Med Plans” or “Limited Medical Plans” are becoming increasingly popular with small business employers that want to offer affordable health insurance coverage to employees who can no longer afford the contribution costs of the employer sponsored major medical plan. These plans have been around for over 25 years. They are most widely used by restaurants, fast food chains, casinos and temporary personnel agencies. Mini Med plans can provide limited health coverage for seasonal or part time employees that do not qualify for or cannot afford traditional health coverage.

This is a very interesting article from the L.A. Times, "What's Wrong With Health Insurance?" that hits the nail right on the head. We've been telling people for a long, long time that if you buy health insurance directly from the insurance carrier not only will you pay more, but you'll get less. It's one of the industry's "dirty little secrets" that nobody wants to tell you.

 Many people have no choice other than buying directly from the insurance carrier due to the fact they work for a company that does not offer group health or that they are unemployed or in-between jobs. However we see a lot of people that own their own businesses or are self-employed that stubbornly think they are getting a better deal by cutting out the "middleman" (us, brokers) and they are buying direct from the insurance carrier. Folks, this just is not true! 

Take a few moments to read this interesting article from The L.A. Times about an industry that can't seem to work it's way into the 21st Century. It's a good read and abbreviated if you're in a hurry.