When Mark Matson, Dallas, was venting to a family friend about skimpy-yet-expensive medical insurance options for individuals, his friend suggested he contact Cattle Raisers Insurance (CRI).
Turns out, his friend is the wife of an orthopedic surgeon in Dallas/Fort Worth and she and her husband have been satisfied members and insurance clients of Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) for years.
“She planted that seed and that’s what caused us to join the association,” he says. “Then in reading the magazine, I saw an article about insurance groups. I thought, ‘This isn’t going to work, that’s too good to be true,’” he says.
“We, like so many other people, had had an individual policy. Because of Obamacare, for the last 3 years when renewal time came my insurance company would go away. We would start all over with a new one and it would go away and we would start over again.
“Of course the premiums went up and we were paying more and were getting less. We were at a point where we really had to compromise and were losing our doctors and having to accept an HMO. Our doctors weren’t in it. The hospitals we wanted to use were not in it. But it was insurance and we had to be in compliance with the law,” he says.
To qualify as a group, Matson created a limited partnership. The group medical insurance policy covers 2 people, Matson and his wife.
“I sat across the desk from the staff and they helped me fill out the paperwork. I didn’t want to make mistakes. They helped me every step of the way. They stayed after Blue Cross and Blue Shield, kept me in the loop on what the status of my policy was and held my hand when I was panicking and thinking, “Uh oh, I’m not going to be in compliance with the law.”
Matson’s individual policy expired Dec. 31, 2016, and his new group plan went into effect Jan. 1, 2017. There was no lapse in coverage, no time of non-compliance with the law and he got the support he needed from the CRI staff to get him through it all.
“I couldn’t be happier with their help. It turned out as advertised,” he says.
We invite you to visit with Cattle Raisers Insurance to learn more about group medical insurance options. Samantha Ristau, Crystal Hinshaw and Michele Woodham, your Cattle Raisers Insurance team, welcome phone calls at any time.
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.