Lets talk health insurance

[aceys_h0ney]

So my premiums are sky rocketing at work and I am beginning to question whether it is actually cheaper to continue to buy through work. So for those of you that purchase your own health insurance who do you go through? I would like a lower deductible ($500-$1000) ones I am finding online have really high deductibles. Also I am so new to this concept what are questions to ask or things to look for? I have just always carried insurance through work so I really guess I don't know how the insurance world works. I pay 20% copay and a $1,000 deductible a year, well child check ups are free. I do not currently have dental and get 1 eye exam ($15 co-pay) and a discount on glasses/contact. My family is not on any everyday medication. No pre existing conditions.

 

[wgwtgb]

I apologize that I don't have any real "advice"; however, I will be following this thread. Here is my reason: DH's insurance is paid 98% by his work. However, we have to meet a $500.00 deductable before it will pay one penny. He is hardly ever sick!!!! I'm wondering if getting a cheap policy would be worth it for us!

 

[Traveliz]

I apologize that I don't have any real "advice"; however, I will be following this thread. Here is my reason: DH's insurance is paid 98% by his work. However, we have to meet a $500.00 deductable before it will pay one penny. He is hardly ever sick!!!! I'm wondering if getting a cheap policy would be worth it for us!

You have a GREAT Deal - I would not be questioning this at all.

Liz

 

[Anthony1971]

I do not know if anyone can be of a lot of help as the price varies a lot from state to state:
In NY--I pay 100 a month for family coverage to my company we have a 25.00 co pay and 15.00 perscription co pay plus dental-- My compnay pays a little over 1,500.00 a month just for the health part not including dental. I do not recall the exact cost of dental but it is not much compared to health.
individual is in the mid 500's
I am happy with what we get but I also know other states are a lot less $$$

 

[Ava]

I apologize that I don't have any real "advice"; however, I will be following this thread. Here is my reason: DH's insurance is paid 98% by his work. However, we have to meet a $500.00 deductable before it will pay one penny. He is hardly ever sick!!!! I'm wondering if getting a cheap policy would be worth it for us!

Ditto what Liz said. I pay about 25% of the cost of our insurance premiums; our deductible is $300, well-visits not subject to deductible. We have a $15 co-pay for office visit & pay 20% co-insurance on most everything except well-visits.

Only paying 2% of your premiums, even with a $500 deductible, is a good deal.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

I don't know what state you are in but generally purchasing your own insurance is very expensive. Here in MI, I know people that pay between $800- $1000 per month for their policies. Not sure what you are paying but it could be very costly to get an individual policy, especially if there are any known health issues.

Also, keep in mind that with the health care reform that is coming, everything will be changing in the next several years.

 

[wvjules]

Purchasing my own health insurance was way cheaper than going through my employer for their plan. I think it is $500/month. I bought BCBS on my own for $103/month. I have a $2500 deductible but the saving I've gotten for simply having insurance has been incredible. Office visit $100, participating provider write off $70; I owe $30. Not bad. (That is just an estimate.)

Oh, I used ehealthinsurance.com. It was in a Suze Orman book as recommended site.

 

[shawnandjeff]

Can you no take your company's medical insurance and just buy your own? I wasn't sure about that. My bf has to pay out $10,000 between premiums and deductibles before they will pay a penny! It's horrible!

 

[Tink-aholic]

So my premiums are sky rocketing at work and I am beginning to question whether it is actually cheaper to continue to buy through work. So for those of you that purchase your own health insurance who do you go through? I would like a lower deductible ($500-$1000) ones I am finding online have really high deductibles. Also I am so new to this concept what are questions to ask or things to look for? I have just always carried insurance through work so I really guess I don't know how the insurance world works. I pay 20% copay and a $1,000 deductible a year, well child check ups are free. I do not currently have dental and get 1 eye exam ($15 co-pay) and a discount on glasses/contact. My family is not on any everyday medication. No pre existing conditions.

aceys_h0ney, how much are your premiums now? How much is paid by your work? Are you offered an FSA (Flexible Spending Account) at work? Your deductible can be put into an FSA before taxes, which can be a big savings.

To wgwtgb, I agree that you pay less for insurance than most. Most individual plans cost far more than your yearly deductible every month -- and there is usually a deductible on top of that! The next time your husband goes into work, ask him to thank his boss.

 

[mouseaider]

I am a licensed insurance agent in New York State. Here it would be way cheaper for insurance through your employer.

I can't comment on any other state because of my license restrictions, but I'd contact somebody in your state that works with insurance for an accurate answer.

But it also appears premiums will be sky rocketing because of our Presidents Health Reform. Those that have money will be paying for everyone.

Good luck.

 

[Noah]

I think what you have is good. If you were living here in San Francisco, your health insurance package, even with the company's help would be very high, yes with high deductibles too.

I am assuming you are working at a non union workplace. I understand that at a union workplace, you pay a small flat rate for union membership and you will receive medical, dental, and vision coverage.

Again, if I am right and you are at a non union workplace, your insurance is relatively speaking, inexpensive.

noah

 

[bettymae1121]

My company just sent us a statement saying what the total premium is for the health insurance they provid. My compay pays 90% of $26,000 a year premium to insure me and my DH (no kids). DH and I pick up the other 10%. This is with no deductable at all. Our co-pays are $5 prescriptions, $10 doctors visits, $50 ER and that's all we pay out of pocket, period. No lifetime limit either.

I'd imagine similar coverage but with a higher deductable would be a bit cheaper.

 

[Tecbot]

Wow i thought this was for going into the states insurance cant believe what you guys pay for insurance.

I thought paying $1 a day going into the states was a bit high for insurance guess i was wrong.

 

[CowboyCO]

So my premiums are sky rocketing at work and I am beginning to question whether it is actually cheaper to continue to buy through work. So for those of you that purchase your own health insurance who do you go through? I would like a lower deductible ($500-$1000) ones I am finding online have really high deductibles. Also I am so new to this concept what are questions to ask or things to look for? I have just always carried insurance through work so I really guess I don't know how the insurance world works. I pay 20% copay and a $1,000 deductible a year, well child check ups are free. I do not currently have dental and get 1 eye exam ($15 co-pay) and a discount on glasses/contact. My family is not on any everyday medication. No pre existing conditions.

It is rarely a good deal to put your whole family on your work insurance. Keep yourself on it and look for a high-deductible insurance policy for your kids. Then put the difference in cost into a bank account until you have saved the deductible. I pay $100 a month for both of my kids (combined). It has a$30 co-pays and a $5,000 dedictible. I was able to save up the emergency medical fund within 18 months. Now that money goes into my Roth IRA. Low deductibles are a waste of money on healthy people.

 

[AZMermaid]

I apologize that I don't have any real "advice"; however, I will be following this thread. Here is my reason: DH's insurance is paid 98% by his work. However, we have to meet a $500.00 deductable before it will pay one penny. He is hardly ever sick!!!! I'm wondering if getting a cheap policy would be worth it for us!

Wow! That is good. We pay $40 a paycheck for my husband and I on his work insurance. This will go up to $100 a check when the baby is born. Then we pay all expenses up to $2500 until they start paying $80%. This is pretty similar to what my insurance would have been through my employer (teacher- so through the state) if I was working this year, except my deductible was $1500 and to put the baby on my is so crazy expensive, we would have put him on DH's anyway.

 

[aceys_h0ney]

I like the idea of keeping myself because my employer does pay part of my premiums. They used to pay 100% of my premiums but decided not to pay for the increase this year. Currently I pay $150 for my daughter with a $500 deductible. However that is going up to $280 for just her. The family plan is around $900 with a $500 deductible on each person. I would like to insure my husband and step-son but can't afford $900 a month. I can't just cover my two children (daughter and step-son) because it forces you to go into the family plan. So right now my step son is on Medicare since his mother is not paying any support. My other two children are covered under their father's policy which is way cheaper then mine. My husband currently has no insurance. I would like for my whole family to be covered (I want step son off Medicare). It does sound like it is still a good price for insurance however when compared to the $80 I paid for my daughter (who is only 3) when she was born the increases are starting to sting. I have not gotten a raise in 2 years and the insurance just keeps going up. I work for a county government.
Now my ex husband carries the same insurance company through his work. He is a state employee and pays $140 for a family plan that includes dental and vision. I pay separate for those. I know it's not entirely a fair comparison but I can't help but to whine about my $900 police VS his $140 policy with the same insurance.

I was all set to add the family plan this year to cover my husband and take my son of Medicare but with the new increases it is just not affordable. We are a 1 income family and like my husband being at home with the kids but he would have to work to afford this insurance. I am scared of a high deductible plan but we are healthy so I am rethinking that option and saving the deductible as mentioned above. My daughter had a scare when she was 1 that ended up in $30,000 in medical bills. It was a one time event thankfully but the low deductible was a godsend.

All that to say, thanks for the opinions I have some thinking to do and need to take a hard look at our finances to see what makes more sense for us.

 

[Tink-aholic]

I just want to clarify here: if your son has Medicare, it means it is because he is disabled. You would not want to put him on a private insurance plan. If you meant Medicaid, that is low-cost insurance provided by the state for the indigent.

$900 a month seems high, but is about average for what many people are paying these days. But that amount is merely drops in the the ocean of what you could have to pay if your husband had an emergency that required medical attention. You could be bankrupt within weeks.

And I'm going to disagree with CowboyCO: both my husband and I pay for the family plan at both of our jobs. My son (his stepson) has dual coverage, which means no copays, no deductibles, and everything he needs is covered 100%. Worked out well for us, because he has had to have two bone marrow transplants within the last two years (always healthy before) that would have cost us several thousand dollars each if we had high deductibles and probably would have cost us our house if we didn't have any insurance.

Insurance is a little like gambling -- you are betting that you are going to use more than you spend in premiums. The difference is, everyone needs medical care at some point, and I think kids need it more (think skateboards and sports and trampolines and surfing...see where I'm going with this?). Trust me, if you can't afford insurance, then you absolutely can't afford to be without it.

OP, can DH get a different job that offers insurance? Look around at different individual plans, but I don't think you'd save any money there. I also know plenty of people who work part-time jobs to pay for their health insurance.

Good luck.