Any of y'all pay/ provide your own health/medical insurance?

May 31, 2017, 09:44 PM

ZSMICHAEL

Yes, for about 40 years. It was the largest expense in running my business. It is complicated, expensive and generally necessary unless you are independently wealthy. There are a number of health care experts on this forum would could probably give you better help if you could be more detailed in your question.

May 31, 2017, 09:58 PM

arfmel

Wife and I age 60, BCBS Silver Plus plan, about $1900/month.

May 31, 2017, 10:06 PM

hudr

I don't even know what questions to ask, really. I can only imagine how this Affordable Care Act has muddied the waters....

Basically, I really want to quit my job. Not tomorrow or anything like that, but one day....

I can make up the salary part of my job. Fairly easily. But the benefit side, not so much.
I know I'm gonna need insurance... for me & my 3 kids.
Some basic info...
I'm 46, never smoked, but I have a couple pre-existing conditions.
Kids are:
Boy 17, girls 14 & 10.

It's really mostly a pipe dream, I know. At my age I need to plug away for the next ten years and try to make it to retirement at my .gov job w/o letting it completely suck out my soul....

May 31, 2017, 10:20 PM

shovelhead

Employer does not pay any of our health insurance, all they did was to negotiate a group buy,my cost for my wife and myself $233.00 per week.

We are purchasing her coverage on the open market and have it for under $250 per month, similar coverage. I am on Medicare starting in July.

May 31, 2017, 10:27 PM

dusty3030

$1500 and some change a month. Humana PPO plan male mid 40's, wife mid thirties, 8 year old son.

June 01, 2017, 07:18 AM

V-Tail

Wife and I are both MediCare age, so it's around $100 / month for both of us for Part B, plus another $400 / month to United HealthCare for Medicare Supplement (doctor visits, etc.), and about $60 for Part D (prescription meds).

So, it looks like a total of around $560 / month for the V-Tail household. That sounds low, but now let's factor in the money that was taken from our paychecks from the very first day that MediCare went into effect. Basically, we pre-paid a lot of insurance over the years.

June 01, 2017, 07:41 AM

2tonicP220

quote:
Originally posted by shovelhead:
We are purchasing her coverage on the open market and have it for under $250 per month, similar coverage.

Can you name the provider? Thanks.

June 01, 2017, 08:09 AM

MNSIG

$1100/mo for me, my wife and daughter. $13,000 deductible. BCBS Call it what you want, it amounts to catastrophic insurance.

June 01, 2017, 08:46 AM

steve495

quote:
Originally posted by hudr:
Well, do ya?
If so, do you mind giving an overview of cost, quality, etc?

Please don't consider the information you see in this thread as even close to what your pricing will be. If you go online to your state's health exchange website you can get cost information based on YOU and your current salary.

Start here: https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/

Enter your zip code and it will direct you to either your state/county website. Texas does not have a state exchange (I don't think they do) so the website will run you through the questions to get options and pricing. The pricing is based on the number of adults and dependents, age, other factors and your expected 2017 income.

Then they will tell you what your "premium tax credit" is. This is the deduction - if any - you get as it relates to your income.

You will not have to provide any information other than zip code.

The website will provide you with a list of plans available. I just did a test run for Texas with a a family of five at $48k per year income and the prices for plans started at $60 per month with a deductible of $12,300. So figure at least $13,000 per year max out of pocket to start.

YMMV significantly.

Steve

Small Business Website Design & Maintenance - https://spidercreations.net | OpSpec Training - https://opspectraining.com | Grayguns - https://grayguns.com

Evil exists. You can not negotiate with, bribe or placate evil. You're not going to be able to have it sit down with Dr. Phil for an anger management session either.

June 04, 2017, 02:41 PM

AUTiger89

Another thing to consider is short-term health insurance. I am looking into it right now.

It is much cheaper than Obamacare, but you may have trouble getting it if you have a preexisting condition.

June 04, 2017, 03:34 PM

Balzé Halzé

Some of these numbers you guys are putting up are making me sick.

June 04, 2017, 05:18 PM

ZSMICHAEL

quote:
Some of these numbers you guys are putting up are making me sick.

The best option is employer group insurance, particularly BCBS Federal. That is what the members of Congress have. Sadly the insurance situation keeps people working at jobs they dislike or even staying in unhappy relationships. I have enjoyed being self employed but the health insurance premiums have been a significant drag on the bottom line.

June 04, 2017, 07:01 PM

Sig209

quote:
Originally posted by steve495:

Please don't consider the information you see in this thread as even close to what your pricing will be. If you go online to your state's health exchange website you can get cost information based on YOU and your current salary.

Start here: https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/

Enter your zip code and it will direct you to either your state/county website. Texas does not have a state exchange (I don't think they do) so the website will run you through the questions to get options and pricing. The pricing is based on the number of adults and dependents, age, other factors and your expected 2017 income.

Then they will tell you what your "premium tax credit" is. This is the deduction - if any - you get as it relates to your income.

You will not have to provide any information other than zip code.

The website will provide you with a list of plans available. I just did a test run for Texas with a a family of five at $48k per year income and the prices for plans started at $60 per month with a deductible of $12,300. So figure at least $13,000 per year max out of pocket to start.

YMMV significantly.

Thanks for this info. I just ran through the site. Very educational - I am currently insured through work but it was good to see the information.

-------------------------------------------------

June 04, 2017, 07:04 PM

hudr

quote:
Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
quote:
Some of these numbers you guys are putting up are making me sick.

The best option is employer group insurance, particularly BCBS Federal. That is what the members of Congress have. Sadly the insurance situation keeps people working at jobs they dislike or even staying in unhappy relationships. I have enjoyed being self employed but the health insurance premiums have been a significant drag on the bottom line.

Yes, that's the rub....I am currently a DoD employee and have BC/BS Federal. I know I have really good insurance right now. Like I said earlier, quitting my job is really just a pipe dream....

June 04, 2017, 07:10 PM

MNSIG

I've never really understood how insurance companies carve up risk pools. I certainly know that providing coverage for larger numbers allows them to spread the risk and make statistical estimates more reliable. The mystery is why this is tied to employers. If Acme Manufacturing with 500 employees can form a "group", why not 85,000 Sigforum members?