LauraGB Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 Dh and I are going around and around about dropping our health insurance and just banking the $ just in case something does happen. My thought on this is that having that little card generates major discounts if we do use it. I know some of you are doing this and the thread discussing this not too long ago got me really thinking about it. Currently, for a family of 4, we pay almost $500 pr/mo with a $5000 deductable. We have NEVER even come close to meeting our deductable in a calendar year with this insurance. So, by my calculations, including the deductable, we pay well over $11,000 each year - just in case one of us might need it, and then its gone and we start over for the following year. Seems a bit steep, frankly. But, when we have needed to go to the dr, we saved literally hundreds of dollars due to the "agreements" the drs have w/the insurance companies. That said, I began looking for other policies today. Humana One offers a $10,000 deductable for about $190 pr/mo for a healthy family of 4. This also covers routine exams at 100%. This is half of what we currently pay and our present policy does not cover routine - it just goes to the deductable. Does anyone have any experience with them? Or, better yet, does anyone have a policy that costs less per month?? Basically, I just want some coverage if someone becomes terminally ill or injured since, for the most part, we are pretty healthy. BTW, we are self employed, so it needs to be an independant policy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in OR Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 My husband is self-employed as well, and we also have opted for a high deductible policy (although only $5,000), which was cheaper than our past policy. We put the difference in premiums into a health savings account - contributions are tax deductible. We still use Town Bank in Delafield, WI for our health savings account, because they don't have many fees except the start-up fee. Are you also deducting your insurance premiums on your taxes? We do that each year, and it helps at least a bit for us. No experience with Humana One, although when we lived in Wisconsin a few years ago, we used WPS, but during the last year we used them, the rates jumped a lot. So, not a whole lot of advice - but I know how you feel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted July 3, 2008 Author Share Posted July 3, 2008 I think ours is an HSA. And the prices have literally jumped $75-$100 per month every year since we started a few years ago. That's why I'm questioning the Humana One plan. We haven't been able to claim it on our taxes because our income is non-taxable (we're contracted through the state and these are thier rules for what we do). There are some advantages to this, but definitely some disadvantages, too. Thanks for your input - I'll be wary of WPS (I've also heard this from others, too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigitte Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 I just got our policy through http://www.eHealthInsurance.com with Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield. It is $260 a month with a $3,000 family deductible - we are a family of 4. We each get 3 doctor visits per year with only a $30 copay (specialists included) without having to meet the deductible. I can't tell you how it is working for us, since we haven't used it yet, but it sure beats the $1,100 we were going to have to pay for COBRA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genie Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 The one you mentioned sounds much like the plan my family is on. We are a family of three and it is 150 per month. We never use it. We basically just self-pay and the doctors usually give us a little break because of it. But we have it for those "just in case" feelings. So if something catastrophic happened, we'd be covered. And if it's the same one we have, after your deductible, you pay NOTHING. All these other plans that are several hundred per month, WITH high deductibles, AND with co-pays, and you STILL have to pay a percentage after meeting the deductible. But like I said, we've never actually USED it, so all I can really say is that they are good at taking our money every month, but I have no idea how they are at handling claims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 That said, I began looking for other policies today. Humana One offers a $10,000 deductable for about $190 pr/mo for a healthy family of 4. This also covers routine exams at 100%. This is half of what we currently pay and our present policy does not cover routine - it just goes to the deductable. Does anyone have any experience with them? Or, better yet, does anyone have a policy that costs less per month?? Basically, I just want some coverage if someone becomes terminally ill or injured since, for the most part, we are pretty healthy. BTW, we are self employed, so it needs to be an independant policy. Whatever you decide, I would not go without any coverage. Years and years we have paid premiums and never reached our deductible until last year. If I had had to pay the entire bill without any insurance, I would be homeless. If you have a healthy savings account, a high deductible policy may be sufficient. We have now gone to a group policy with $6000 deductible per person and a health savings account. We pay every dime until we have paid $6000 in a calendar year. I don't consider this great coverage but it's all that is feasible at this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickelfritz Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 My sister dropped full coverage for a catastrophic medical policy. She made clear to her doctor that she was paying out of pocket. Her doctor cuts her a deal on appointments, calls around to find cheaper sources for her prescriptions, does some consults by phone/email, and is pickier about what tests she orders. She actually found a pharmacy that sells a 3 month supply of her medication for less than she was paying for 1 month. She is saving money over a full policy, despite: going somewhat regularly to get some issues figured out, having several tests related to those issues, and filling several prescriptions eavery month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 My sister dropped full coverage for a catastrophic medical policy. She made clear to her doctor that she was paying out of pocket. Her doctor cuts her a deal on appointments, calls around to find cheaper sources for her prescriptions, does some consults by phone/email, and is pickier about what tests she orders. She actually found a pharmacy that sells a 3 month supply of her medication for less than she was paying for 1 month. She is saving money over a full policy, despite: going somewhat regularly to get some issues figured out, having several tests related to those issues, and filling several prescriptions eavery month. Thank you for reminding me that we are the consumer and we do have choices! In the past (probably because of insurance!) I did not question things or shop around. This is good to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Savannah Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Laura, we only have a short-term emergency medical plan which does not cover pre-existing conditions. I have chosen this over nothing, because at least it covers us for new health issues, which could financially destroy us. We have been refused several times for individual policies, due to some serious health issues. We are hoping and praying that God provides a full-time opportunity at my husband's work, so that we will have group coverage. So.....I would encourage you to not give up insurance all together. You are likely getting a much better rate with medical labs and Dr's than if you were self-paying....The Lab I have to go to will not offer self-pay discounts, even though head office states that they do....grrr... I'm sorry I can't offer you any suggestions regarding plans which offer good value for the money, as we have not had the opportunity to even get that far with insurance companies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 We pay our own insurance too and use Anthem Health Smart. I cannot suggest going without. I ended up with a sudden cardiac ablation which the hospital charged $20,000 for. Sure, we still had to pay a little over $4,400 since our deductible is also $5,000, but you still never know what can happen. I am only 36 and pretty healthy -- a heart problem was defintely not in my plan. You also cannot imagine how expensive a nasty car wreck or something can be. It may seem like you're wasting your money, but I just cannot believe so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted July 5, 2008 Author Share Posted July 5, 2008 I am only 36 and pretty healthy -- a heart problem was defintely not in my plan. You also cannot imagine how expensive a nasty car wreck or something can be. It may seem like you're wasting your money, but I just cannot believe so. I agree, and I'm sorry that you had to go through that! That's why I don't mind the big deductable - it would have to be something really serious for us to actually use the entire deductable, even at $5000. Its the monthly insurance payment on top of paying the deductable - roughly $800-$1000 each month. That's what dh is saying. I understand him, and would like to just quit tomorrow, but I am scared to death that we may need it sometime, and since I'm not psychic (like I claim to be ;)), I'm not willing to go completely without insurance, either. Thanks for everyone's input. I need to find the right company to change to before I make a move. But, I'd like to do it sooner than later, kwim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.