health insurance company recommendations

[Kimbear 53]

Hey folks,

was wondering if anyone has experience with a health plan that lets you tailor it rather than forcing stuff on you that you dont need.

My husbands work plan aprently went up without us knowing and im freaking at the 3k a yar cost for 2 people here. its gone up almost a thousand and i find that rediculous and when i told him to change and remove stuff he said he can't that hes stuck and its either this plan or that.

i mean ####### should i pay for stuff i'm never going to use? i can't get pregnant or have a child so why am i paying for all that? just as an example. if he takes just the basic stuff for him its 25$ month..300...a year..thats 1/10th what we are paying now...this is total BS...and i'm frustrated as hell right now at how much things are costing us here in chicago...

[Boiler 45,402]

That is CHEEEEEEP

Find another job with a health plan that suits you.

[Enigma11561 336]

Getting outside insurance could be 2-3 times that amount. And you do not want "just basic". God forbid you are in an accident, who will pay for the major medical, emergency visits, surgery? It's unfortunate but health care is expensive.

[Soulmates513 3]

I'm paying $5,000.00 "just" for myself - my fiancee is another $5,000.00 Consider yourself blessed at those prices. It's something as an American you have to pay for and something you can't do without.

[Marilyn. 340]

we are paying about the same as you and I consider it cheap compared to what some other people have to pay...

[SapphireDreams 71]

$3,000/year for both of you is very reasonable for healthcare here in the US.

The cost is usually subsidized by the employer, usually by about 75%, so if you were to pay on your own, you are going to pay a lot more for a lot less.

And, to be honest, you're not paying for anything "extra". You don't pay for maternity benefits, they are included as part of your comprehensive coverage.

What you might want to look into is coverage with a high deductible. So, usually there are two options from employers - one that is a higher cost per month, that has either no deductibles and a co-pay or a lower monthly cost option that carries a higher deductible.

So for example, with the high deductible plan, you pay something like $80/month but then you would pay for any services usually up to $1000. Once you've paid up tto $1000, then the insurance company pays for the rest of the treatments at 100%

With a higher monthly amount, you don't ever pay for services, you just pay the $20 (or whatever it is) co-pay. Sometimes the services are covered at say 90% so you pay the balance.

Some employers offer much better benefits than others. Some employers onyl subsidize their employee's coverage and then charge full price for the family option. It really depends.

But honestly we pay around the same as you (pretax also, keep that in mind) and I find it extremely reasonble. It's a fact of life here.

[alizon 77]

Just another voice to the choir of "that's cheap!" Even my university subsidized, "we cover practically nothing" student health insurance would cost as much or more if I added my husband.

(Also in Chicago, btw. )

Edited January 13, 2012 by alizon

[Kimbear 53]

Wow...see when i was in Canada with family coverage it only costed me 1200 / year..100% vision and 80% dental. so when i saw his went up again i was fuming. the stupid thing is..with just him on the plan its 300/year..but i apparently cost 2700/year....thats the part i dont understand. And i think its stupid you can't Tailor the pakcages like you can tailor a car or anything else for that matter. no wonder half the country doesn't have or want health insurance.

just trying to figure out where we can cut costs..sine we foudn out we have to PAY the IRS now. i dont evne work..but we have to pay them money. i just hate how 40% of his paycheck gets taken away for stuff we will never see, nor can we deduct on tax returns sigh.i miss my gst cheques.

Edited January 13, 2012 by Kimbear

[Darnell 8,478]

did you keep yer canadien medical benefits program ? if'n yer in chicago, it makes sense to take the ferry over the lake to see your favorite canadien practioners.

[Marilyn. 340]

did you keep yer canadien medical benefits program ? if'n yer in chicago, it makes sense to take the ferry over the lake to see your favorite canadien practioners.

once you move permanently into the US you lose your Canadian medical benefits...

[Kimbear 53]

once you move permanently into the US you lose your Canadian medical benefits...

when you quit your job and move you lose everyting the work one and the provincial one.

[SapphireDreams 71]

Wow...see when i was in Canada with family coverage it only costed me 1200 / year..100% vision and 80% dental. so when i saw his went up again i was fuming. the stupid thing is..with just him on the plan its 300/year..but i apparently cost 2700/year....thats the part i dont understand. And i think its stupid you can't Tailor the pakcages like you can tailor a car or anything else for that matter. no wonder half the country doesn't have or want health insurance.

just trying to figure out where we can cut costs..sine we foudn out we have to PAY the IRS now. i dont evne work..but we have to pay them money. i just hate how 40% of his paycheck gets taken away for stuff we will never see, nor can we deduct on tax returns sigh.i miss my gst cheques.

It's likely because his employer is subsidizing HIS healthcare costs at a higher percentage than yours.

For example, at my last employer, if I got healthcare benefits as an individual, they covered the costs at 75%. So I paid the difference every month. If I added my husband, it became 'family' benefits and then they covered me at 75% and the rest of the family coverage at 25%. So that is why the costs jumps so much when a family member is added.

However, funny enough, my husband's employer provides better benefits, even as family option, we would pay less and his benefits cover a lot more.

So for instance, if you had a job with health insurance and your employer paid most or part of your benefits, it would likely end up cheaper.

Hope that makes sense. sounds like his employer is actually subsidizing your husband almost completely and then yours by 50-75%.

[pocheros 101]

When my husband still had his old job we were about to put me on "basic" health insurance that cost $320 a month (it was only $10 a month for him). Unfortunately being gouged seems to be standard procedure in the good ol' USA...

[Colleens 40]

When Simon lost his job and we had to get private insurance it was costing us $370 per month for very basic medical coverage. The deductibles were pretty high, we had a $35 copay for a PCP and a $50 copay for a specalist. They wouldn't cover the medication that he has to take for his reflux eventhough it is a generic. That price also did not include vision or dental.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

It would be great if we could 'tailor' health care plans but generally the employer decides what options they will offer to their employees and usually offer 3 or so levels of coverage, each with increasing levels of benefits and premiums, with premiums also increasing depending on individual or family and the age of the employee.

Your husband should receive a notice of what packages are available about a month or so before his annual enrollment date. He is only allowed to change his plan on the enrollment date anniversary or if there is a life changing event such as marriage or birth of a child, which often provides a month or so window of opportunity to add them into the plan. It may be that his employer only offers one option and has different rates for individual or family coverage.

Health care costs are obscene in the US, mainly because they have added a middleman - the insurance company - who sits there between the patient and the doctor with their hand out, taking money from you and your employer, holding the majority of it back for themselves, then passing the rest on to the doctor. You can be sure that the sole motivation of the insurance company is their bottom line and certainly not the well-being of the patient or the doctor. It is becoming increasingly difficult for employers to find affordable options that they can support on behalf of their employees as well, so in many cases they too pass along a lot of the expense to the employee and minimize their own financial commitment. There isn't a one size fits all though, so you can have the range of absolutely horrible health care coverage to wonderful coverage with different employers and with the same insurer. It all comes down to money - who is willing to give the most of it to the Insurance companies.

Edited January 14, 2012 by Kathryn41