Do you like your health insurance plan?

[luvmarypoppins]

Well its that time again, open enrollment at dh job. We have a few weeks to decide what plan to pick, along with seeing how much they will deduct from his paycheck etc. Well of course they tell us of all the plan changes and cost "saving" measures to the company, hello what about us. , well we get our co pay increased, worse specialists have a much higher co pay, I feel that is really unfair, like punishing people who have a chronic condition, like ds with asthma and his other problems and one of his meds is way up because its not in the generic formulary etc. Our only 2 other choices are hmos and I refuse to consider them because one of them was the one that dh had to beg them to see me at the er when I almost died. No thanks. I am not liking our health insurance right now, did I mention they just sent me a letter from some co. they contract with asking how ds broke his hand this summer? Gheesh. A big detailed form, I think they dont want to pay it. Hello, he was playing b ball and fell down, it was just an accident etc. Well thanks for letting me vent.

 

[AllyandJack]

I like my health insurance plan, but the customer service people leave a lot to be desired. Trying to navigate everything has been difficult and all I get from them is, "Well, if that's what it says on the website...." I've become obsessed with it. My doctor told me she didn't want to hear the word "insurance" come out of my mouth again. I can't help it. Both of my parents are medical billers and I always make sure I do the right thing and cover all my bases when it comes to this stuff. It's hard to cover your bases when nobody will tell you where the bases are.

I can't complain too much though....we have a great plan, so I guess asking for customer "service" would be asking too much.

 

[goofy4tink]

Hate our insurance company!!! And to make matters worse, my dh works for them, selling group vision insurance. I used to work in the insurance field and I can't figure out what the heck this company is doing. CS is completely absent. In fact, I just told my dh I was really glad he wasn't selling their health line since we would probably starve!!! The vision care is terrific and easy to understand. But the group health is a nightmare. We are constantly getting bills from providers telling us that we are now considered an overdue account, when we have never gotten anything from either them or the insurance company telling us what is now owed!!! And don't get me started on any special tests your doctor may order. My dd was having some fainting issues so her pedi sent us to a pedi cardio who did a batterey of tests because there is some heart type issued in the family. But, we have now ended up having to pay almost 50% of these tests!! It makes one very hesitant to do any preventative type care. But, that is exactly what the health insurance companies want.....more premiums and less care. Works for them but not for us, the insured. I can't wait for open enrollment in Jan. We are going to switch to a plan that may cost more on a monthly premium basis but I'll at least know where I stand.

 

[Tigger_Magic]

I guess I'm in the minority 'cause I really like my health insurance plan. It's an HMO plan and except for the office visit co-pay that went up this year, I've got no complaints about it.

Now if I could just get some decent dental insurance...

 

[mainewmn]

I hate my insurance plan but it’s the best our small office can afford. My family has $1500 deductible before any real benefits start rolling in, everything about our insurance is complicated and cumbersome. NO matter how many times you call, you will always get a different answer. Some of the reps will even hang up on you if you try to question them. Have I mentioned I hate it?

On the other hand our dental insurance is wonderful, but it’s a completely different provider.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

Yes I like our plans. We get low copay and deductible, good coverage, easy to use, good online info and the people are helpful at customer service. Plus-our benefits are free to us through DH's job so that makes them even better!

 

[Laurajean1014]

I love it. My company is large and therefore are self-insured. They do not charge us anything for the plan and pay 100% within Dr.. The deductable is $15, but I've rarely had to pay it.

We have Express Script that you order on-line and you get it in about 1 week. Obviously, we can go to a pharmacy to get immediate drugs.

They also pay the Drs. very quickly, which makes it very easy to manage.

No complaints here.

 

[CathrynRose]

Uhhhhh - No.

Dont have insurance - I work for a Technical Consulting Firm, which hires us, to then place at companies, which need networking, development, technical support, etc... A Contractor - think "temp" if you will - generally to hire, though.

The pay I make, does make up for the lack of benefits. The pay is substantially higher. BUT - GOD FORBID anything *bad* happens.... I'm S.O.L.

 

[ZachnElli]

Nope, don't like ours. We pay $350 a month with $1000 deductible on each person, once deductible is met, we pay 20% and annual visits, well child visits, and just your average doctor visit also has a $30 copay. I feel like we pay twice for everything. It's just paying for a just in case something major happens for us.

 

[mickeyfan2]

I do like my plan. It is the traditional 80/20. I would never take an HMO. Have seen too many horror stories from people I know.

 

[luvwinnie]

As far as plans go, I'm pretty happy with ours. We have GHI. We don't need referrals!!!! How wonderful is that? And they are covering my very expensive med with no trouble. I know people who had a lot of trouble getting it covered which is very very sad.

 

[OhioTony]

I know I shouldn't say this but----can it get any worse?!?!?!?!

Sears is the employer and they aren't very stable at the moment. Our deductable went from 1600 for our family to 4500!! And they used to pay 80%after that was met, now its only 70%. and of course the premium went up! The cost of the premium increases have been so high the last couple of years that any pay increase and then some is totally negated.

We are basically paying for dr visits out of pocket ( they will never reach 4500) and have insurance for the "what if" scenario.

 

[Marseeya]

I'm really nervous about the changes DH's employer is making. We'll be going from a PPO with a $15 doctor co-pay to a savings plan type of thing. It'll have a $1500 individual/$3,000 family deductible, including prescriptions, then I think everything is fully paid after that. Also, we would have no premium, but we could put money in a savings that I think we can use to pay our deductible with.

It's so confusing.

Between DS and me, we already pay over $200 a month for our prescriptions, but now we'll be paying $500 a month until we meet the deductible. I don't know how we'll swing it! It'll be okay if we can get the money right away from the savings plan, but if we have to wait for approval, it could get really sticky for us.

 

[chrissyk]

Uhhhhh - No.

Dont have insurance - I work for a Technical Consulting Firm, which hires us, to then place at companies, which need networking, development, technical support, etc... A Contractor - think "temp" if you will - generally to hire, though.

The pay I make, does make up for the lack of benefits. The pay is substantially higher. BUT - GOD FORBID anything *bad* happens.... I'm S.O.L.

NO amount of pay makes up for not having at least catastrophic health insurance. Once accident or injury will wipe you out. Can you look into getting a catastrophic plan through BC/BS at least? You could pick a high deductable plan and probably not pay very high premiums. My sis had one through BC/BS that was less than $200/month for a high-deductable policy. That $200/month is worth it for the peace-of-mind in case you ever have an accident or illness.

 

[mickeyboat]

I love our insurance. We have a $10 co-pay and $0 deductible, and my company pays for the entire premium for me and my family.

Our plan is a traditional HMO product, but I have not had any problems with coverage, customer service or referrals. But, unless it is an emergency, there is no out of network coverage. We are free to choose physicians from a wide range of factilities for primary care and specialist care.

Denae

 

[Chattyaholic]

I'd be happy to just HAVE a health insurance plan!

The insurance company DROPPED everyone where I work, with no warning. In June they raised our monthly premiums $50, in July they cancelled us.

I am in the process of seeking new insurance, but it takes SO LONG to get approved. I hope to have something in place before the new year starts.

 

[azgal81]

I love mine. For my medical insurance I pay $25 each month and then a $10 dollar co pay when I see my physician and $20 co pay when I go to urgent care. Everything else in covered.

 

[puffkin]

Ours is pretty good, no real complaints here.

Of course I would like to pay less, we pay approx. $120 a month for my husband and I. It is a major PPO plan in our area, so most doctors accept it. We haven't had any problem finding doctors that we want that accept our coverage.

We have no deductible as long as we stay in network (again not too much of a problem for us). No referrals. $20 copay on office visits. The prescription drug plan can get pricey, $30 for a 3 month supply mail order. $27 brand name, $10 generic at the pharmacy.

Dental is pretty good. My DH's dentist is in network, so he pays nothing when he goes, it is all covered. My dentist is out of network, so I pay upfront. But the dentist submits it electronically and I usually get a check back for the full amount in about a week.

 

[LoveWDW]

Our plan is expensive, and goes up every year while cuttting back benefits. But having said this, they are reasonable to deal with. With our previous plan I was calling and writing letters of protest all the time.

 

[BabyTigger99]

I love mine! Premium is $70 a month for family coverage. $50 individual deductible, $150 family deductible. $10 office copays. Two HUGE networks of providers. With everything I went through when I was diagnosed with cancer, we had bills of well over $200,000, and only paid MAYBE $1500 out of pocket, with most of that being on prescriptions, because we have to pay 20% of them.