s $592 dollars a month for a family of 4?
That would cover 85% major medical up to about $4400 out of pocket at which point the deductible is met. My employer wants me to cover my health insurance on my new contract whereas my last contract the medical was covered by the employer.
The raises for the contract will cover the cost of insurance for a single employee. But having a family of 4, if I max out my out of pocket for just 3 out of the 4 years, I’m at a loss of several thousand dollars. I’d loose a lot more if I had to cover my own healthcare for all 4 years.

I’m wondering if I shopped around for my own policy I could do any better or if it would cost me more?

quote:

Originally posted by 400m:
I’m wondering if I shopped around for my own policy I could do any better or if it would cost me more?

1) Understand that you may be limited in your ability to shop around right now. Normally you can only make health insurance changes, like signing up for a policy through your state healthcare marketplace, during "open enrollment" at the end of the year, to go into effect January 1st of the next year.

However, there are exception, known as "qualifying life events" that can allow you to switch/start at any time throughout the year. Things like losing health insurance, moving, getting divorced, etc. You'll need to check to see if any of those apply to you.


2) Even if you qualify to switch now, a marketplace plan for a family of 4 will almost certainly cost more than $600/month. I recently priced a marketplace plan for myself, and since I made too much to qualify for any subsidies, it was ~$400/month for moderate (silver) coverage or ~$600/month for the best (gold) coverage. That's for just one person, and in a state that's not known for high insurance costs. So unless you live in a state with cheap insurance and qualify for income-based subsidies and are going with lower coverage plus a higher deductible, it's unlikely to be less than $592/month for a family of 4. (Though it doesn't hurt to check to make sure...)

Generally, unless you're at least somewhat near the poverty line for your family size, employer health insurance is typically better and cheaper than a marketplace plan. Unsubsidized marketplace plans are expensive, because your high premiums are what's helping to pay for those subsidies for folks with lower income.

In 2020 I was paying nearly $2000/month for health insurance for my wife and I. And we had no underlying conditions other than being a little bit tubby, like many 60+ year olds.

Thanks Rogue

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
And we had no underlying conditions other than being a little bit tubby, like many 60+ year olds.

Doesn't matter any more. Location, age, and smoking are the only factors insurance companies are allowed to take into account now when determining premiums. The old standard of preexisting health conditions leading to denials or higher premiums was outlawed over a decade ago.

Rogue is correct. Group plans are much cheaper and cover more. It is very difficult to secure an Individual health plan that is affordable. Many doctors will not accept Obamacare because of how little they pay.

quote:

Originally posted by 400m:
s $592 dollars a month for a family of 4?
That would cover 85% major medical up to about $4400 out of pocket at which point the deductible is met. My employer wants me to cover my health insurance on my new contract whereas my last contract the medical was covered by the employer.
The raises for the contract will cover the cost of insurance for a single employee. But having a family of 4, if I max out my out of pocket for just 3 out of the 4 years, I’m at a loss of several thousand dollars. I’d loose a lot more if I had to cover my own healthcare for all 4 years.

I’m wondering if I shopped around for my own policy I could do any better or if it would cost me more?

$600 a month isn't shit compared to what most people pay for a family of 4. I have awesome insurance through the DC gov and I pay more than that. And that's a group policy with thousands of employees. I think you'd be hard pressed to find something better on your own.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Many doctors will not accept Obamacare because of how little they pay.

"Obamacare" (the Affordable Care Act's health insurance marketplace) isn't a health insurance plan.

It's just a means for people without insurance through their job to access a private health insurance plan, potentially with a premium subsidy based on your income. It involves signing up for a normal health insurance plan offered by a normal health insurance company like BCBS/Aetna/United/etc., and the doctor's payment is the same group negotiated rate as someone who has the same BCBS/Aetna/United/etc. coverage through their job.

You must be thinking of Medicaid, the government provided free health insurance for low income folks. Many doctors don't accept Medicaid, because of how little they pay, and how many hoops they have to jump through.

But Medicaid isn't related to the "Obamacare" marketplace (and Medicaid existed long before Obama was president - since 1965). The "Obamacare" healthcare marketplace is for those who make above the poverty limit and don't qualify for that free Medicaid coverage.

Basically:
Poor = Free Medicaid, but limited doctor options ($0)
Nearly poor = Subsidized normal insurance plan through Obamacare marketplace, with a sliding subsidy to help pay the premiums based on how close they are to the poverty limit ($-$$)
Not poor or even close to poor = Full price normal insurance plan through Obamacare marketplace ($$$-$$$$+)

I’m paying almost that much a month with a much larger deductible to hit $6,850

This trend toward HDHP insurance sucks to be honest.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
This trend toward HDHP insurance sucks to be honest.

Agreed.

"But... you get a HSA, so that's cool!"


The awesome health insurance is one of the main things I miss from my old agency, and one of the primary reasons I stuck that out as long as I did. ~$90/month with a $500 deductible and $3k max out of pocket. You're just not going to find that anywhere else.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RogueJSK,

I'm now on Medicare, one of the few advantages of getting older.
We're both self-employed. Once you go past 60 the premium rise will take your breath away each year.
We didn't smoke or have the other issues either. The rest is just a math calculation. How much premium you can pay vs the risk of higher deductibles and copay's.