Health Insurance

As an owner/employee there will be decisions that need to be made again at the end of the year, it has pretty much reached a breaking point...

SHG

Decade long stagnant wages with rising inflation and rising health care costs = lower standard of living. 🙁

Not complaining - still happily employed.

Just got a couple of quotes for next year's health insurance for me, my wife, and to kids. My insurance will be $1500 month. Looks like we will be foregoing insurance to pay our mortgage.

Adam, post: 398624, member: 8900 wrote: Just got a couple of quotes for next year's health insurance for me, my wife, and to kids. My insurance will be $1500 month. Looks like we will be foregoing insurance to pay our mortgage.

that sucks. my condolences
wishing you and your family good luck with your health

I suppose that is for pretty good coverage. Have you priced a catastrophic coverage policy? Even if you don't have coverage for visits for colds, flu, and minor injuries, you might be able to limit the expenses if something major happens so you wouldn't have to declare bankruptcy.

The real value of insurance appears to me to be as a sort of discount coupon that prevents hospitals and providers from charging other than their contract rates for services. The large healthcare corporations appear to be generally run along the lines of the Martin Shkreli School of Business Ethics. Even high deductable insurance makes sense if it protects you from a predatory rate structure for hospitalization.

Bill93, post: 398627, member: 87 wrote: I suppose that is for pretty good coverage. Have you priced a catastrophic coverage policy? Even if you don't have coverage for visits for colds, flu, and minor injuries, you might be able to limit the expenses if something major happens so you wouldn't have to declare bankruptcy.

Not that good of coverage, high deductible. I am going to see what I can get for the kids. Maybe a catastrophic plan for me and the wife.

It is a 50 percent increase over this year. I really don't know what to do. This is 1.5 times my mortgage payment.

There was a post about going solo, this is something to consider if your current job offers good insurance.

I was given the quote of $900 monthly including dental.
It starts paying after I pay $17,500 out my pocket.
woohoo :bomb:

Perhaps base-line Health Care should be provided to all, at no cost.
Third World countries do it, it works.

Vote Different

sorry, my post was way off topic, it has nothing to do with insurance

Yep, my rates went up about 64%. I'm now looking at $960 a month to cover me and my daughter. The lowest cost plan available with the highest deductible, crappy co pay, and poor RX copays is still $100 a month more than my plan now, which was no deductible, decent copay, and real good rx copay. It's the RX copay that I really need.

I currently pay about $23,500 a year for HMO coverage for my wife, son and me. It's a grandfathered plan, but is roughly equivalent to Platinum coverage under the ACA. Last month I got notice of the 2017 rates, and they're going up an average of 1.4 percent (0.2 for my son, 1.7 for my wife and 2.2 for me).

I just found out the other day that our company is going to start offering health insurance. At first glance, to get the same coverage I now have with my own plan will save me about $6 a week.

Wow some crazy prices there for health insurance. I can't imagine many working people this side of the pond could ever afford to pay that kind of money for healthcare.

Totalsurv, post: 398669, member: 8202 wrote: I can't imagine many working people this side of the pond could ever afford to pay that kind of money for healthcare.

Don't you already have national coverage paid for by your tax dollars?

Totalsurv, post: 398669, member: 8202 wrote: Wow some crazy prices there for health insurance. I can't imagine many working people this side of the pond could ever afford to pay that kind of money for healthcare.

Yes, the US healthcare system is completely out of control when you consider the effect of the the large, for-profit corporations that dominate the pharmaceutical, healthcare, and health insurance industries on the actual performance of the system. The commonest commercials on some television channels are those claiming to treat "erectile dysfunction" and various skin diseases. They are obviously big-ticket ad buys.

Totalsurv, post: 398669, member: 8202 wrote: Wow some crazy prices there for health insurance. I can't imagine many working people this side of the pond could ever afford to pay that kind of money for healthcare.

please don't confuse "health insurance" with "health care"
the bundled cost of Insurance is quite a bit more than Health Care.
if somebody gets their wishes for "single payer" (Insurance) I bet that would also be unaffordable

Jim Frame, post: 398672, member: 10 wrote: Don't you already have national coverage paid for by your tax dollars?

Yes true that our healthcare is mainly paid for through general taxation but the amount like for like would be nowhere near comparable. It certainly would not be 1.5 times my mortgage!! Now is the standard of healthcare in the US better than here I don't know.

Kent McMillan, post: 398628, member: 3 wrote: The real value of insurance appears to me to be as a sort of discount coupon that prevents hospitals and providers from charging other than their contract rates for services.

Yes. The billings are scary. I had a common procedure recently and spent an hour in a "recovery room" with minimal assistance from staff. The list price for the recovery room was $508.80 (operating room was separately billed) and total bill $4058, but the Medicare allowed amount was less than 1/4 of that. Don't get caught paying list price.