Tanya and John Shields ranch in Nolan County. The county seat, Sweetwater, has a population of nearly 11,000 and is about 40 miles west of Abilene.
When Tanya was diagnosed with a health challenge, she needed access to more and different doctors than were available in their part of West Texas.
Fortunately, Tanya and John’s daughter and son-in-law invited her to live with them in San Antonio. This move opened many medical options to Tanya, but her medical insurance at the time kept them closed.
“That’s why I had to get new insurance,” she says. “We had to go through the marketplace to do that, which is a horrible experience.”
Tanya says her choices for individual health care coverage were limited to a scant handful of companies offering plans that didn’t provide access to the doctors and services she needed.
“I had a really great general practitioner and a neurologist. I definitely wanted to go to them and they were not covered at all. The HMO (health maintenance organization) plans being offered for individual health insurance plans are very restrictive,” she found.
A PPO, or preferred provider organization, would give her access to better medical care choices and to the doctors Tanya wanted to use. But, to be eligible to purchase a PPO plan, she needed to purchase group insurance. How can one person be a group?
“We started by incorporating our ranch business,” she explains.
Michele Woodham and the staff at Cattle Raisers Insurance had explained the options that opened to the Shields if they incorporated their family business.
John worked with the family attorney to incorporate the ranch and, “Michele was amazing helping me get all the paperwork done,” Tanya says.
“I literally sat down on the floor and cried when I got the email that said that I had been accepted. The relief was so amazing for me after all the tension and everything of trying to get insurance. It was a huge blessing.”
John’s healthcare needs are covered through Medicare and a supplemental policy. Tanya is the employee of the ranch business who is covered by the group policy. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas group insurance policy is providing the tailored coverage she needs for doctors and medications.
“It’s hard to navigate insurance when you don’t understand all the language in the policies. Michele and I went through the plans. I told her what I needed, and she came up with the same thing I did, which made me feel really good that I had chosen the right plan,” Tanya says.
Tanya encourages anyone who is purchasing an individual medical insurance plan to consider group insurance options, “because it is a much better policy.” Explore your health care coverage options with Cattle Raisers Insurance. The staff are ready to answer any questions about group healthcare policies and about a variety of other insurance products ranchers need. Cattle Raisers Insurance is licensed in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
If you would like information on a group medical insurance policy, please call 1-800-252-2859 or click here to get an insurance quote today.