Are they KIDDING??? (health ins costs)

[Aubrey]

Dh finally brought home the paperwork for health ins thr his new job. The cheapest plan, for a family, is $1000/mo!!! LOL, & it's a terrible plan.

 

For just dh, it's so expensive, that even paying full price out of pocket for his inhalers will be cheaper.

 

I'm bracing myself for some of y'all to tell me that this is a good price, etc. But for where we are, this is... unimaginable. Rent is $700/mo, just to put it in perspective.

 

In the long run, it's ok. I think there was one mo. this yr that we all had to go to the dr, & there's one on campus, so it's not too expensive. We'll survive w/out ins. It just frustrates me because I feel like a 2nd-class citizen, like a flake who's not smart enough or responsible enough to realize they need ins. :001_huh:

 

(When did they move the smilies? That could be awkward, lol.)

[Guest janainaz]

You know what? We pay $600/mo for our family of 4. My husband and son went to the doctor for minor issues and we received bills for over 700 for my husband and 400 for my son. That was our portion. We have a good plan, but even with $750 deductibles, it adds up fast. We don't have 1200 to just fork out. I am so DONE with health insurance and trying to catch up all the time. If everyone fights back by not having it, not buying it, they will have to do something.

 

It is a hot topic for me. It burns me up.

 

Oh.....and most doctors are not doing their jobs. They are treating symptoms and not the causes. It's all about the almighty dollar.

[Mama Lynx]

That. Is. Insane.

[MyBlueLobsters]

Our out of pocket insurance expense went up $6000 last year, and it is rising again. The coverage is getting less and less and the expense is going up and up. INSANE! We can not be w/o insurance, our son may need a 2nd cleft palate repair and the first was $100,000 :001_huh:

[Halftime Hope]

It has been five years since we needed to access this, since dh was unemployed and just could not find a job after 9/11, so the rules may have changed, but the CHIP program for kids may be a good resource for you, for the occasions when you don't want to use the campus clinic. (Horrible run-on sentence; sorry!)

 

The enrollment process was not difficult, in fact, they were trying to enroll people--you know, that whole "use the budget we've been alotted" thing?

 

I hope times have not changed too much.

[sleepy]

No, they are not kidding. That is why I don't have insurance. :glare:

[RoughCollie]

I don't think that is a good price. I'm sick of how it is getting so ordinary working people* like all (or most) of us can't afford health insurance. I'm not thrilled how insurance coverage is so tied to employment either. In many cases, if you are self-employed, you are screwed. (Sorry, I couldn't think of a better word for that last one.) And, if you pay cash for heart surgery here, for example, it will cost you twice as much as it will cost the health insurer. I know why (contract negotiated price), but it still doesn't seem right to me.

 

We pay $25,000 a year for Blue Cross HMO Blue for a self-employed family of 6. I think it is because of the number of people in our family, my heart surgery, the boys' care in the NICU, and the operations the boys have had.

 

We have had a lot of major medical expenses that were 80% covered by insurance, so on that score I can't complain. Frankly, no matter how much insurance has cost us over the years, we will probably never spend the same amount that the insurance company has. Also, my medications cost $600 a month, so we have to have coverage for that.

 

In July, our insurance cost increased $500 a month. It is difficult to come up with the money to pay for it.

 

* Before anyone takes umbrage at the phrase "ordinary working people", I am referring to people who are not wealthy and I am not jabbing at anyone who either doesn't work or is on some sort of government-supplied medical plan.

 

RC

[elegantlion]

Yup, that's terrible. We are without insurance as well. We decided we would rather eat than starve and pay an insurance premium. :grouphug:

[fshinkevich]

Wow - that is a lot. We pay 250/mo for our family of 7, we have a $500 deductible and $10 copay's. Plus its PPO so I can go to any Dr. I want.

 

But even with how "good" our insurance is a lot of things have not been covered, esp. anything to do with my sons behavior disorder so we still spend thousands of dollars.

[JudoMom]

Oh.....and most doctors are not doing their jobs. They are treating symptoms and not the causes. It's all about the almighty dollar.

 

I really don't think this is a fair statement. I'm sure there are some doctors that aren't ethical, however I think most doctors are doing the best they can.

[beansprouts]

No, they are not kidding. That is why I don't have insurance. :glare:

 

What she said. We dropped our ins last June and chose to pay for medical care out of pocket instead. Our bill was also $1000 a month for lousy coverage, which means the real cost is much more if you add in all the co-pays, and the healthcare we couldn't afford because of them.

[Pink Fairy]

Health care costs ARE insane. We pay $1400/month, which is more than our mortgage. My parents pay about $800/month for the the two of them, with crappy coverage.

 

Gas prices, food prices, health care costs--our money doesn't stretch very far at all these days. It's keeping me up nights.

 

:grouphug: to you. I hope you can figure something out, and when you do--please post it for the rest of us!! I think there are quite a few of us in the same boat. :sad:

[Aubrey]

It has been five years since we needed to access this, since dh was unemployed and just could not find a job after 9/11, so the rules may have changed, but the CHIP program for kids may be a good resource for you, for the occasions when you don't want to use the campus clinic. (Horrible run-on sentence; sorry!)

 

The enrollment process was not difficult, in fact, they were trying to enroll people--you know, that whole "use the budget we've been alotted" thing?

 

I hope times have not changed too much.

 

Yeah, I know, but *I* was hoping for ins., & I was hoping...to have ins, kwim? You just get treated so... differently w/ the state ins. I thought maybe dh was making enough that we could afford it now. Not that he's making that much more than his old job, I guess I was just feeling hopeful, lol.

[PrairieAir]

This is why we have never been able to afford health insurance. Dh is self employed. He and his dad have a very small construction company. They cannot get a good insurance plan as far as benefits and amount we'd have to pay in for a small company. People who work for large companies like Boeing may be able to afford it, but not us. Even if we squeezed out all the extra/nonessential expenses, I don't think we'd come up with the amount required for health insurance coverage per month. It's ridiculous.

 

I went to my first non ob/gyn doctor appointment in my adult life last month. The standard fee for a first time visit is $123. Today I got a bill for another $88. I wasn't in there for long. All they did was look at my spider bites, numb the area around the one, squeeze all the infected pus gunk out of it, and slap a bandage on it. That's still not a major medical expense, but OUCH. If I hadn't seen all the lovely internet images of spreading necrotized tissue, I probably would have done the same thing my doctor did at home and not worried about it.

________________

I'll say something else here. My kids are on Kansas healthwave and have been ever since oldest dd's horseback riding accident. We always knew we qualified, but didn't want to accept government help. That accident made it necessary. I would consider us pretty firmly middle class, but a family our size making up to $56,808 a year qualifies. Dh makes a good bit less than that. The year that dd had her accident was a bad year for the business and he'd made even less than usual. This past year he did a little better than usual and we thought we might not qualify, but we were still well within range. We'll have to check again now that oldest ds has joined the Marines and is no longer living at home, but I suspect we are still within those guidelines. The state of Kansas at least recognizes how unattainable health coverage is for average families like ours. Now that the kids are covered, I don't take them in to the doctor any more than before though, and I still try to pay cash for some things instead of using the state insurance. I am thankful it's there for big stuff, but I still hate that we have to use it.

[Aubrey]

Wow - that is a lot. We pay 250/mo for our family of 7, we have a $500 deductible and $10 copay's. Plus its PPO so I can go to any Dr. I want.

 

But even with how "good" our insurance is a lot of things have not been covered, esp. anything to do with my sons behavior disorder so we still spend thousands of dollars.

 

That's part of what gets me. The forms they send are written in such a way that if you read it too fast, it looks like it's about $250/mo for the family, but upon 2nd glance, that's $250/WEEK. *I* think the co is counting on people not reading it that closely, thinking that $250/mo is about what it should cost. Kwim?

[Kari C in SC]

And this is why my kids are on healthy families insurance and we only insure dh and I through his employer.

 

Yep! My kids are on healthy kids too. My dh gets insurance through his employer because they pay half and otherwise my dh is uninsurable. I still had to get myself a high deductible policy because dh's employer was still too high because I am "of childbearing age". Who cares that I had my tubes tied 4 years ago! It is nuts! I will say that the state healthy kids programs have been great. You don't have to be dirt poor to qualify anymore and they cover everything. We only had to pay 2 - $5 co-pays for my dd to have 2 surgeries, 4 days in the hospital and about a dozen office visits with x-rays. Not bad at all. If I had kept her on our high deductible plan - we would have had to pay $2500 plus the monthly premiums. I am glad I got her on the healthy kids before the accident.

[The Governess]

That's ridiculous.

 

Have you ever looked into getting individual insurance? If you don't have any major health issues it can be a LOT cheaper than a group plan. I found an individual policy that was half the price of what my employer offered me and with a lower deductible. If you go to ehealthinsurance.com and look for an individual family plan you'll be able to see what kind of price range you would fall into and compare it to what the company is offering.

 

:grouphug: Health insurance is a pain, to say the least.

[LizzyBee]

My family has BC/BS because it's way cheaper than putting them on my policy at work. You might check into the cost of gettig a major medical policy that would pay if someone has a serious illness/hospitalization.

[Kari C in SC]

Yeah, I know, but *I* was hoping for ins., & I was hoping...to have ins, kwim? You just get treated so... differently w/ the state ins. I thought maybe dh was making enough that we could afford it now. Not that he's making that much more than his old job, I guess I was just feeling hopeful, lol.

 

Honestly, I did not notice being treated any differently for having state insurance for my kids. Actually, if anything, I had to call because I got a bill for something. By law they are not allowed to bill you for anything the state insurance doesn't cover. I pointed out that this was healthy kids and the person on the phone was extremely nice and apologized. Then they cleared the account. That would NEVER happen if I had them on the BCBS my dh has or the United Health Care that I have. I really can't say enough good things about the plans both in Florida and South Carolina.

[beansprouts]

Wow - that is a lot. We pay 250/mo for our family of 7, we have a $500 deductible and $10 copay's. Plus its PPO so I can go to any Dr. I want.

 

But even with how "good" our insurance is a lot of things have not been covered, esp. anything to do with my sons behavior disorder so we still spend thousands of dollars.

 

Is this your portion of a group plan or the entire cost?

[Harriet Vane]

Honestly, I did not notice being treated any differently for having state insurance for my kids. Actually, if anything, I had to call because I got a bill for something. By law they are not allowed to bill you for anything the state insurance doesn't cover. I pointed out that this was healthy kids and the person on the phone was extremely nice and apologized. Then they cleared the account. That would NEVER happen if I had them on the BCBS my dh has or the United Health Care that I have. I really can't say enough good things about the plans both in Florida and South Carolina.

 

I was on government medical care for six years, and I absolutely HATED it. Many, many medical professionals treated me very poorly. Most of the doctors were okay, though some were emphatically NOT, but almost universally the medical staff were at best condescending and at worst quite rude. I was reduced to tears on more than one occasion.

[Rosy]

To all you guys who are paying too much or don't have insurance but would like to--please look into HSA qualified plans. We were paying $700+/mo. for the kids and me (DH's employer covers him) for an HMO that wasn't all that good. We recently switched to a catastrophic plan ($7000 deductable) that costs $196/mo. and we can contribute to a Health Savings Account--we'll be putting the difference in there where it will be invested and grow, rather than handing it over to our insurance provider and never seeing it again. For a healthy family, it's a great option. We left DD3 on DH's plan as she may need costly growth hormone therapy, but we still come out way ahead unless one of us gets in an accident or contracts a disease in the next two years.

[Nestof3]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the problem with group plans is that everyone gets the same insurance, and that gets pricey. For example, all women get maternity coverage. As a woman, you cannot opt out of this in group insurance. Also, in group insurance, they have to cover the cost of everyone. That means eventhough you and your family have no health issues, you are paying for those who are diabetic, who have heart disease, who have had cancer, etc.

 

For example, in private plans, you pay according to your own health and needs, to some extent. Your premiums would be higher, for example, if you had a pre-existing condition, if you smoked, and you would pay extra for maternity. You also have to look at what dental coverage is given. Dental can really add up.

 

We pay $91 a month for dental because we actually pay more than that out of pocket to get two cleanings a year for 5 people, plus sealants for the kids, and x-rays for us.

 

A maternity adder would cost $71 a month, but depending upon your deductible, many women really make out with the coverage they get vs. what they pay in for it.

 

$1,000 still seems really high to me, but PPOs / HMOs are like that. You usually get quite a lot for a premium like that. I know we pay more out of pocket for the insurance we have right now, but we have a $5,000 deductible too. This costs our family of 5 with no health issues $391 a month (remember $91 is for dental). I have no maternity coverage. We pay $20 for a doctor visit, $30 for a specialist vist, and we pay the entire first $5,000 before anything is covered. Of course, the prices are reduced to an allowable charge.

 

What is your deductible with a premium like that? Does it cover things like braces? Our son's and my husband's braces each cost us $4,000.

 

But, with my cardiac ablation this year, the boys' bouts with strep throat, my annual OBGYN appt, and other misc. doctor visits, the health insurance company still paid out more than we paid in. The cardiac ablation alone was $30,000.

 

So, insurance companies are not necessarily making a killing.

 

You might also look into Christian Care Medishare or Samaritan's something or other -- another sharing ministry. We used the CCMS for a while.

[Rosy]

Yes, but you have to have the money to stock up the account. We had one for a few years along with a high deductible plan. Dh got pneumonia and it nearly ruined us. He wasn't even admitted to the hospital it was just 2 dr. visits, x-rays and 2 kinds of antibiotics. If you don't have the money for ins. you probably don't have the money for a Health savings account (although I think it is a great idea).

Yeah--though if you're already paying the high premiums, you don't necessarily notice a difference, except that your HSA is accumulating money. I think if someone had savings they could take a chance on an HSA plan and just put $200/mo. in until they'd met the deductible in their HSA.

[nakitty]

YIKES! Ours is only about $200 a month for a family of 6....with $10 co-pays and no deductibles. Dh works for Boeing.... we are very fortunate. I know many that either go without or pay insane rates like yours....:glare:

[Kris]

Dh finally brought home the paperwork for health ins thr his new job. The cheapest plan, for a family, is $1000/mo!!! LOL, & it's a terrible plan.

 

OUCH!!!!!

 

For just dh, it's so expensive, that even paying full price out of pocket for his inhalers will be cheaper.

 

When we do the math, we come up with the same result. We don't have insurance because the monthly cost is more than we've spent on doctors --total! -- for the past ten years.

 

I'm bracing myself for some of y'all to tell me that this is a good price, etc.

 

You won't hear that from me. That's outrageous.

 

It just frustrates me because I feel like a 2nd-class citizen, like a flake who's not smart enough or responsible enough to realize they need ins. :001_huh:

 

Well, I feel like a second-class citizen when I can't pay the bills. So if it's a choice between health insurance and food/gas/electricity? Um -- :D

[Cricket]

I was on government medical care for six years, and I absolutely HATED it. Many, many medical professionals treated me very poorly. Most of the doctors were okay, though some were emphatically NOT, but almost universally the medical staff were at best condescending and at worst quite rude. I was reduced to tears on more than one occasion.

 

That's too bad you had that experience. We had state insurance last year and all of the doctors we had were very professional and respectful towards us. I had heard stories so I wondered how we were going to be treated. It's sad that so many people now are being pushed into state insurance whether they want it or not. We went without insurance for about 5 years before applying for assistance. We didn't want to but dd developed medical problems last year. The doctor told us we had to apply because dd might end up needing surgery. She did so I'm glad we applied.

 

About them being condescending, I noticed sometimes that nurses would talk to me like I didn't know the first thing about taking care of my kids. It made me wonder what kind of moms they usually get in there!

[Amy loves Bud]

Aubrey,

 

Have you just looked at getting your own insurance? We pay BCBS about $300 per month (and we're very old compared to you, so you could probably get a better premium). It's only catastrophic, of course, with a $5000 deductible, but at least we're covered if something terrible happens. And the dr's all charge the negotiated rates that they have with BCBS, even though we end up paying out of pocket for everything.

 

I"m sorry you're disappointed. That really stinks. But I can't imagine paying that much for health insurance here in Texas, where rates are a bit lower than many other states, I think.

[whitestavern]

My husband's self employed and we pay $500/mo for 2 adults, 2 kids, with a $10,000 deductible. Yes, that means anything up to $10,000 in a given year we pay out of pocket. It's crazy. Every time he gets a paycheck I'm paying down medical bills. And we don't even go to the doctor that much!!!

 

I haven't read all the posts, but most states (I think??) have coverage for kids w/in certain income limits so if you qualify, at least get them covered. You should look into a catastrophic policy for yourself and your husband (should be very reasonably priced) so at least if something serious were to come up, you'd be covered.

[Jenny in Atl]

We pay just shy $1000 for a family of four with a $3000 dect BC/BS. The girls yearly visits to the Ped are not covered, but dh and I are covered for one ckup per year. I wish it was the other way around. Thankfully Fi's trips to the Endo are covered ($40 co-pay) and her meds after the first $600. We paid a tone in insurance and medical. We are also self employed. :confused:

[Diane]

We pay 500. a month for a family of 4 with BC/BS, and we have a 1000.00 deductible. I'm thinking of raising it to at least 2000/deductible.

This is for individual insurance.

 

Now, going back 10 years ago, through my husbands job, we were paying 660.00 a month for just the two of us! Of course, it did cover maternity. This current insurance doesn't coverage maternity. I've had two c sections and due to certain issues, I'd have to have another. That would be quite a hefty bill I'd have to cover if I were to become pregnant now.

 

I highly recommend looking into every option possible. Even checking into getting individual for your children and maybe it wouldn't be so expensive for you and your husband. Does your dh's job cover his insurance?

 

My dh's former employer covered dh's share. However, he still decided to go on the plan with us because we've seen a friend of ours who didn't have insurance get into a car accident and insurance companies won't touch him now due to a spinal injury he has. If my anything happened to my dh and he couldn't work for that company anymore or didn't want to, insurance companies would likely not take him. So, best to get on individual while everyone is healthy.

 

This whole insurance issue is stressful, I feel your pain. I pay every other month so I don't have to think of it monthly. That bill kills me, especially considering we've had one dr. visit in the last 2 years.

[EKS]

That price is pretty typical when you have to pay for insurance through an employer. You might find that individual insurance is better (for a while). However, when we had individual insurance (for 8 years), every other year I had to lower the benefit amount to offset the huge premium increase. It was getting to where there were only two more levels down we could go before we couldn't afford *anything* anymore. What we had was very high deductable, no frills--including prescriptions--insurance. It was scary to think of what could have happened if anyone needed a very expensive medication for a prolonged period of time.

 

A few months ago my husband got a job with excellent benefits. It is absolutely wonderful to not have to worry about all that now.

[Moxie]

That is about what we happily pay. We're healthy and in pretty good shape and the insurance company has paid out more on us then we have paid them for the past 7 years. Dh has a heart condition and had surgery that cost close to $100,000. He also had an emergency appendectomy one year. I've had 2 babies and a miscarriage, all requiring many doctor visits. I thank God for our health insurance.

 

The cost of health insurance isn't the problem, it is the cost of the medical care. It shouldn't be $10,000 for a healthy woman to birth a healthy baby and leave the hosptial within 24 hours. I guess that is sort of a 'chicken or the egg' discussion.

[Guest janainaz]

I really don't think this is a fair statement. I'm sure there are some doctors that aren't ethical, however I think most doctors are doing the best they can.

 

Woops, sorry. :) I meant to say, "I don't think"..... That was just my opinion and based on the nightmares I personally have experienced. We literally have had to research and stay on top of the doctors to make sure they are giving us the best possible care. Many doctors will not run all the necessary tests and they cut corners. Not only has my family experienced this, but friends and family as well. Again, that statement coming from my own reality.

[Aubrey]

Can you get insurance through the school by any chance? That is ridiculous! Just for comparison see what it would cost you to self insure through Kaiser or Blue Cross.

 

Yes, but they don't cover dh's asthma meds, pg, or many other things. And it's pretty expensive, too.

 

ETA: Not that I plan on being pg again, lol, but I knew we'd have at least 1 more last yr when we were looking at the plan.

[JudoMom]

Woops, sorry. :) I meant to say, "I don't think"..... That was just my opinion and based on the nightmares I personally have experienced. We literally have had to research and stay on top of the doctors to make sure they are giving us the best possible care. Many doctors will not run all the necessary tests and they cut corners. Not only has my family experienced this, but friends and family as well. Again, that statement coming from my own reality.

 

That's a bummer :grouphug:. I've had an experience like that, too, but have had many, many, many, many more great ones (ds6 has arthritis and neutropenia, and we've seen more than our fair share of docs in the last 4 years).

[Aubrey]

Even checking into getting individual for your children and maybe it wouldn't be so expensive for you and your husband. Does your dh's job cover his insurance?

 

No, he's considered an independent contractor. We were surprised they offered anything. At his last job, ins was too much for us, but it at least covered him.

[Jami]

Ugh, it's really tough isn't it?

 

I'm afraid that's about what it costs to have a full-coverage plan for a family without the employer kicking anything in. We paid 750$ a month for a really great group plan a few years ago, I'd bet that same plan is 1000$ a month now. But it covered EVERYTHING, with 10$ copays for office visits. My first three babies cost us about that 10$ each. No deductible or anything.

 

Have you looked at the Texas Risk Pool? That's what we had to do for dh (really expensive meds and pre-existing condition). I don't know what it would cost for a family.

 

We now have employer covered insurance again, which I'm thankful for, but the plan has a higher deductible and co-insurance rate than I'd prefer. And of course it doesn't cover my midwife and birth center, so we're paying out-of-network for that. :tongue_smilie:

 

That year or so that we didn't have insurance though, other than for dh, made me nervous, so I can empathize completely!

 

Jami

[Hillary in KS]

Can you check into getting health insurance privately?

 

Dh was unemployed from January until May. COBRA would've been $1200 per month for a family of 5.

 

When we called Blue Cross they quoted us a price of $850 per month.

 

We found an independent agent for private health insurance. She said that the trick is to not have your entire family on the same policy. We had the two youngest on a Coventy policy, ds 12 had his own Humana policy, and dh and I were on our own Humana policy. All together we paid $400 per month.

 

If you're in the Midwest, then PM me and I'll give you our agent's phone #. She's licensed in (I think) 14 states. If she's not licensed in your state, she'll likely know someone in your area.

 

Hillary

[nmoira]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the problem with group plans is that everyone gets the same insurance, and that gets pricey. For example, all women get maternity coverage. As a woman, you cannot opt out of this in group insurance. Also, in group insurance, they have to cover the cost of everyone. That means eventhough you and your family have no health issues, you are paying for those who are diabetic, who have heart disease, who have had cancer, etc.

 

For example, in private plans, you pay according to your own health and needs, to some extent. Your premiums would be higher, for example, if you had a pre-existing condition, if you smoked, and you would pay extra for maternity. You also have to look at what dental coverage is given. Dental can really add up.

 

And this is why someone like myself, with an easily controlled genetic blood clotting disorder and no other risk factors, cannot get private coverage. Give me single payer insurance any day.

[nmoira]

We are very fortunate to have the plan we do: ~$70/month premiums for family coverage, $600 individual deductibles, 80% coverage after that (certain visits free), $40/$20/$10 drug plan. There is also another option for people with higher health care expenses which has premiums of about $250 a month. Both are group plans through DH's work. With his previous employer, we were paying almost $500 a month for a $1000 individual deductible... and this is factoring in a cheaper, higher deductible plan for the children.

 

I honestly don't understand how most people are supposed to be able to afford health insurance, and I'm shocked at the number I've mothers I've met who've gone back to work 2 or 3 months after the birth of their baby just for the health insurance. It's obscene.

[Mom to Aly]

After I had my dd, for whom the pregnancy cost more than $130,000 10 years ago, they raised our ins (we had our own business) to $3200 a month for cheap! We had to drop it, of course, but we found a company, I think it was called "The Golden Rule"--it excludes anything with pregnancy automatically for anyone, but it is for catastrophic mainly, and it was really cheap. I would look into something like that.

[Mom to Aly]

After I had my dd, for whom the pregnancy cost more than $130,000 10 years ago, they raised our ins (we had our own business) to $3200 a month for cheap! We had to drop it, of course, but we found a company, I think it was called "The Golden Rule"--it excludes anything with pregnancy automatically for anyone, but it is for catastrophic mainly, and it was really cheap. I would look into something like that.