Does your job pay 100% for your health insurance?

[mefordis]

I just found out this is a thing for some people, to have their employer pay 100% of their health insurance? Anyone hear of this?

 

[Kimly]

My husbands does, he’s active duty Navy.

 

[Christine]

I work for the federal government and no, it is not paid 100%. It is paid at about 72% or something like that. My husband is/was a union electrician. His health insurance premiums were covered 100%. Now that he is retired, the union pays about 75% of the premium and we've started to pay the other 25%. It hurts, especially when you're income has been reduced!

 

[easyas123]

I'm an employer...we used to be able to carry the cost of employee (and family) health insurance until about 12 years ago. At that point we were no longer able to afford the cost. Fast forward to a few years ago and we thought we could swing it again. What a pain the marketplace has become-in any event, we are able to provide health insurance to everyone provided enough employees signed up for it starting 2 years ago. Luckily enough want to sign up for it, and we cover all but a $25 cost to them deducted 2X a month from their paychecks. We have about 48 employees at the moment, and we are glad to be in a position to offer this to them.

 

[Babs Johnson]

Decades ago it was 100% covered by my company. In fact, I got a small credit in my paycheck every month because I was single and didn't use the whole amount they allotted for each employee.

Then about 1998 they started covering about 90%, then kept gradually increasing the amount I had to pay. They cover about 72% of the premium now.

 

[kdonnel]

My current employer heavily subsidies insurance.

I think tying insurance to employment is one of the worst decisions ever made. If only we had a time machine.

The employee pay should just be increased and the employee should be the one shopping for insurance plans since the employee is the actual consumer.

Our system of consuming a product we have little or no choice in is stupid!

 

[bcla]

My current employer heavily subsidies insurance.

I think tying insurance to employment is one of the worst decisions ever made. If only we had a time machine.

The employee pay should just be increased and the employee should be the one shopping for insurance plans since the employee is the actual consumer.

Our system of consuming a product we have little or no choice in is stupid!

I’ve usually had several options, although some were actual insurance while others were self-insured. Most don’t understand when they’re in a self-insured plan that seems like it’s with an insurer. But they typically go through a company like Blue Cross as a plan administrator.

I’ve always had to pay a little bit, and the employee contributions were even more when I had a family. And with a child it got weird because the contributions were the same regardless of the number of children.

 

[leebee]

The small school system where I used to work pays 100% of the cost for single person coverage for their ed techs (paraprofessional) and support staff. I negotiated several of these contracts and maintaining this was of utmost importance to our membership. It was a sweet deal. I left there 4 years ago but to my knowledge, this still stands as part of the contract.

 

[starry_solo]

Currently, yes. My employer provides a finite amount of money and I can pick from selected plans. If the plans are more expensive than the amount the employer pays, I pick up the difference. If the plans are cheaper, than I keep the extra

 

[luvnwdwgal]

My husband’s employer has paid for his for almost 40 years now. We have to pay for mine though.

 

[kanerf]

I could have received a very basic plan fully paid, but I chose a better plan that I have to contribute to. The costs work out better for me in the long run based on my needs.

 

[kdonnel]

I’ve usually had several options, although some were actual insurance while others were self-insured. Most don’t understand when they’re in a self-insured plan that seems like it’s with an insurer. But they typically go through a company like Blue Cross as a plan administrator.

I’ve always had to pay a little bit, and the employee contributions were even more when I had a family. And with a child it got weird because the contributions were the same regardless of the number of children.

I am saying I don't think the employer should be involved in health insurance in any way.

Everyone should be buying their own insurance.

Tying insurance to employment was a horrible decision made 80 or so years ago.

 

[Christine]

I am saying I don't think the employer should be involved in health insurance in any way.

Everyone should be buying their own insurance.

Tying insurance to employment was a horrible decision made 80 or so years ago.

I totally agree. And over my long work history, health insurance always had to factor into every decision I made to change jobs. So there were times that I didn't make a change to a job that would have been a better job professionally if they didn't have the best health insurance. It just shouldn't have to be a factor in your professional life.

 

[ronandannette]

Well, it's not exactly the same here because public health care covers all major medical expenses including doctor visits, diagnostics and all hospital stays/procedures. Many other things (dental care, most mental health services, vision care, physical therapy, prosthetics, prescription drugs, ambulance transport and a lot of other services) are OOP expenses if not covered by insurance. Many people have benefits through work. Both DH and I do and the policies are completely covered by our employers. We "double-dip" each other's coverage as well, which is nice because our primary policies both have deductibles and annual maximums.

Except for small businesses, almost all employers offer benefits, even to part-timers. Some plans are better than others. I've never worked anywhere without them but then again, I've never chosen a job based on what the benefits were either.

 

[bcla]

I totally agree. And over my long work history, health insurance always had to factor into every decision I made to change jobs. So there were times that I didn't make a change to a job that would have been a better job professionally if they didn't have the best health insurance. It just shouldn't have to be a factor in your professional life.

But then there’s the matter of who can afford health insurance. Part of the reason why health costs are so high in the United States is the number of uninsured getting indigent care, as well as some administrators getting better deals than others.

 

[briggscreek]

My employer pays nearly 100% of my mine, but my family coverage is about 23% of our income and because of the ACA family glitch, we don't qualify for any marketplace subsidies.

 

[LYSE]

Mine are covered at 100 percent but I have to pay half for family so it doesn't feel that great.

 

[GAN]

I am saying I don't think the employer should be involved in health insurance in any way.

Everyone should be buying their own insurance.

Tying insurance to employment was a horrible decision made 80 or so years ago.

It's set up as a perk of employment -I'm not sure what it would take to convince an employee who is covered 100% to go out and buy their own coverage(even if compensated) ...probably a lot.

I'd rather go buy a used car than haggle with insurance companies.

 

[Skippy918]

Mine is heavily subsidized. If you want to know the true cost, ask your HR what the cobra rate is since that is the unsubsidized cost.

 

[Skippy918]

I wish insurance wasn’t tied to your employer or if we had something similar to Canada or Europe. It would make retiring early much easier.