Is there such a thing as a reasonably priced health care plan for a family?

[StaceyinLA]

Right now dd's husband pays $160/week for coverage for their family of 5. They've just been told it is going up $30 per WEEK. They don't have a huge income, and are pretty much living paycheck to paycheck as most young families (they are a one income family).

 

Are there any options? I don't even know what's out there because we've been insured so long through dh's company I haven't had to think about it.

[AmandaVT]

Right now dd's husband pays $160/week for coverage for their family of 5. They've just been told it is going up $30 per WEEK. They don't have a huge income, and are pretty much living paycheck to paycheck as most young families (they are a one income family).

 

Are there any options? I don't even know what's out there because we've been insured so long through dh's company I haven't had to think about it.

 

We pay $1500/month for a family of 3.....so I'm going with no. :-(

[SparklyUnicorn]

You could check if your state offers anything.  Although, since insurance is offered through the employer I'm not sure how that would work.

 

Little bit of info here:

 

https://www.healthcare.gov/have-job-based-coverage/change-to-marketplace-plan/

 

Then there might be the possibility to switch the kids to a state plan.  But again, I'm not 100% sure if that is possible given they are covered currently. 

[LucyStoner]

Have they applied for SCHIP for the kids? A lot of modest income families qualify and then they could just worry about covering the adults. SCHIP has different names in each state but all states have a program for covering children at little or no cost to parents if their income is modest.

[SparklyUnicorn]

We pay $1500/month for a family of 3.....so I'm going with no. :-(

 

Oh yeah VT is notoriously expensive for health insurance.  One of the reasons is the insurance companies often don't have much leverage to get good discounts/contracts with providers because there aren't enough doctors/providers (so not much competition). 

 

When I worked in claims I'd see what some of the costs were in states like VT and NH.  And the discounts were absolutely piddly.  So in an area with plenty of competition the insurance company can negotiate fairly deep discounts (50% and sometimes more).  I saw hospitals in NH or VT where the discount was 5% or less.

[Mbelle]

It's unreal and ridiculous, but probably not.  

[Guest]

They can try to look for a higher deductible plan. That's what we did, even being insured through dh's work. They purposely raised the portion employees pay to an insane level for the low deductible plans to try and force everyone to the HD plans. It worked. I couldn't stomach $1200 a month for our portion. So we switched to the other plan and sock away extra each month in case we need it for the deductible.

[LucyStoner]

Also, if he is a young man he may want to start thinking about what he could do that would offer good employer based insurance. My husband works at a hospital and he and the kids are covered at no extra cost to us and adding me is all things considered not too much. My friend got a job at a well known tech company for their well known health benefits. Exploring large employers with good coverage is not a bad way to go when looking for a job. I will take lower pay because we need stellar insurance. In fact when we decided that one of us needed to stay home due to ASD and homeschooling, I made more money but we couldn't do without his insurance. My field has marginal insurance for the employee and it's cost prohibitive to add dependents or a spouse.

 

If your daughter worked PT at Starbucks, that comes with affordable coverage for her.

Edited May 19, 2016 by LucyStoner

[StephanieZ]

We pay $1800ish/mo for a family of 5.

 

So, I'm thinking that dd's family coverage is a bargain. 

 

Ugh. Sorry!

[gypsymama]

Finding healthcare is tough. Private insurance isn't usually a good deal. I like the ideas above of looking for a job with good benefits or signing the kids up for state insurance. Have you considered a healthcare sharing ministry? There are quite a few of them out there and even more if you are Christian. I looked into Liberty healthshare and I think it was $400 something for a family regardless of the number of kids with 100% coverage after the deductible (I think it was $1500?). It was a pretty good deal. The only reason we didn't do it at this time is that it doesn't cover pre-existing conditions and we have immediate health needs. I can't afford to pay for two insurances for a year until it covers! It might be a good option for your dd though. :) 

[DawnM]

Right now dd's husband pays $160/week for coverage for their family of 5. They've just been told it is going up $30 per WEEK. They don't have a huge income, and are pretty much living paycheck to paycheck as most young families (they are a one income family).

 

Are there any options? I don't even know what's out there because we've been insured so long through dh's company I haven't had to think about it.

 

 

How much is the actual plan?  How much is it subsidized by his employer?  My guess is that this is probably 2/3 subsidized by them and you pay about 1/3.  I don't think they will find anything comparable for the price.

 

We pay $750 for a family of 5 (per month) and DH's employer pays about $1500 more than that as part of his benefits.

Edited May 20, 2016 by DawnM

[mims]

If they are Christians I back the Christian medical share plans.  We use Samaritans and love it.

[AmandaVT]

Oh yeah VT is notoriously expensive for health insurance.  One of the reasons is the insurance companies often don't have much leverage to get good discounts/contracts with providers because there aren't enough doctors/providers (so not much competition). 

 

When I worked in claims I'd see what some of the costs were in states like VT and NH.  And the discounts were absolutely piddly.  So in an area with plenty of competition the insurance company can negotiate fairly deep discounts (50% and sometimes more).  I saw hospitals in NH or VT where the discount was 5% or less.

 

Yeah, this is for a not-so great plan too. $4000 deductibles and $12k out of pocket per year. Ugh. And our only choices are MVP (which doesn't cover as much or have as many providers) or BCBS (great insurance, but $$$). 

[AmandaVT]

How much is the actual plan?  How much is it subsidized by his employer?  My guess is that this is probably 2/3 subsidized by them and they pay about 1/3.  I don't think they will find anything comparable for the price.

 

We pay $750 for a family of 5 (per month) and DH's employer pays about $1500 more than that as part of his benefits.

 

Yup, before DH left his prior employer, we would get yearly statements for taxes with how much they paid into insurance for us per year. Last year, his employer paid $22,000/year and we paid an additional $600 per month.

[Crimson Wife]

The whole system is unsustainable. Healthy, young families more and more are opting for Christian healthshare ministries, which leaves traditional plans with a disproportionate share of families like mine that have high healthcare costs (my youngest just got cochlear implant surgery and while I haven't yet seen the EOB it'll probably be >$50k that the insurance company will pay). The insurers raise premiums, cost-shares, and deductibles and that just drives more healthy folks to seek alternatives.

[Guest]

How much is the actual plan? How much is it subsidized by his employer? My guess is that this is probably 2/3 subsidized by them and they pay about 1/3. I don't think they will find anything comparable for the price.

 

We pay $750 for a family of 5 (per month) and DH's employer pays about $1500 more than that as part of his benefits.

This is about where we are at too since changing to a higher deductible plan, but our deductible doubled and our maximum out of pocket jumped significantly. Five years ago we were paying 2/3 of that for exceedingly better coverage. I hate insurance. There is zero transparency and it gets worse every year. We have some friends that have ditched it all for concierge service and pay into that instead, but I'm not sure how that plays in with the healthcare mandate.

[Murphy101]

Not that I'm aware of.

 

When we find it less expensive to pay cash for diabetic supplies/care and Pregnancy, then in my mind the policies are unreasonably expensive.

[Tanaqui]

Healthy, young families more and more are opting for Christian healthshare ministries, which leaves traditional plans with a disproportionate share of families like mine that have high healthcare costs (my youngest just got cochlear implant surgery and while I haven't yet seen the EOB it'll probably be >$50k that the insurance company will pay).

 

Do you have any numbers for the percentage of the population using this option? Or are you just guesstimating "more and more"?

 

This article states that 300,000 people were covered this way in 2014. The population of the US is 319 million, which puts the percentage of people using this option at .09%.

 

Unless the numbers have changed dramatically in two and a quarter years, I just can't see how .09% of the population opting out of conventional insurance is making it "unsustainable"... especially when you consider that the US is becoming more secular and less Christian. Non-Christians aren't likely to see too much appeal in something completely unregulated. I mean, I guess it looks great when you're paying just a tiny bit each month, but when they go bankrupt and can't help you what are you gonna do?

Edited May 19, 2016 by Tanaqui

[SparklyUnicorn]

Not that I'm aware of.

 

When we find it less expensive to pay cash for diabetic supplies/care and Pregnancy, then in my mind the policies are unreasonably expensive.

 

Yeah and if people are paying that for the premiums, are they also  then left with a policy they can't afford to use with high copays, deductibles, etc.?

 

Awful...I'm pretty stunned by what some people here are paying.

 

I guess we are very fortunate to have reasonably priced insurance. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Do you have any numbers for the percentage of the population using this option? Or are you just guesstimating "more and more"?

 

This article states that 300,000 people were covered this way in 2014. The population of the US is 319 million, which puts the percentage of people using this option at .09%.

 

Unless the numbers have changed dramatically in two and a quarter years, I just can't see how .09% of the population opting out of conventional insurance is making it "unsustainable"... especially when you consider that the US is becoming more secular and less Christian. Non-Christians aren't likely to see too much appeal in something completely unregulated. I mean, I guess it looks great when you're paying just a tiny bit each month, but when they go bankrupt and can't help you what are you gonna do?

 

Yeah and I imagine they just flat out won't take some people if they have certain conditions.  Plus I wonder if they are allowed to drop people.

[Crimson Wife]

Our per-person deductible alone is now where our share of the premiums + out-of-pocket family max was a decade ago. OTOH, a decade ago we might've been subject to a cap on the maximum amount the plan would pay annually that would not have been sufficient for this year's expenses (I'm not sure because we didn't have high medical expenses back then).

 

I don't know how to maintain the high quality medical care that exists under the current system while fixing the issue of affordability. We spent 5 years stuck using Army healthcare and it's like night and day the difference between that and what we have now.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Our per-person deductible alone is now where our share of the premiums + out-of-pocket family max was a decade ago. OTOH, a decade ago we might've been subject to a cap on the maximum amount the plan would pay annually that would not have been sufficient for this year's expenses (I'm not sure because we didn't have high medical expenses back then).

 

I don't know how to maintain the high quality medical care that exists under the current system while fixing the issue of affordability. We spent 5 years stuck using Army healthcare and it's like night and day the difference between that and what we have now.

 

Yeah see I don't even feel like the quality is all that great.  You don't get much for the money.

[Guest]

They can try to look for a higher deductible plan. That's what we did, even being insured through dh's work. They purposely raised the portion employees pay to an insane level for the low deductible plans to try and force everyone to the HD plans. It worked. I couldn't stomach $1200 a month for our portion. So we switched to the other plan and sock away extra each month in case we need it for the deductible.

 

This is what we have done for years.  We view it not as "health coverage" but "health insurance."  We have an obscenely high deductible, but very low monthly payments.  I've never hit the deductible, but we set aside the "extra" we would pay for the health *coverage*--and I've never come away with a deficit.  Most years, it has been a MUCH better outcome for our bank account.

 

Basically, it's like the casinos in Las Vegas...the House wins.  

 

I did come close to the deductible the year I had a basal cell carcinoma removed from my face and the two followup plastic surgeries...but even then, we didn't pay as much for the medical care as we would have paid for the medical coverage.

 

The insurance is there against catastrophe, not normal health care expense.  

 

I would note that there has been a lot of news lately about how insurance costs will rise steeply this year.  That is because there are certain coverages mandated by the Affordable Care Act, and that just causes the price to rise.  We have seen this in our insurance, even though it is still relatively low.  (Family of three, $700 a month...and that is up from $400 over the past three years....)

[Crimson Wife]

Do you have any numbers for the percentage of the population using this option? Or are you just guesstimating "more and more"?

 

This article states that 300,000 people were covered this way in 2014. The population of the US is 319 million, which puts the percentage of people using this option at .09%.

 

Unless the numbers have changed dramatically in two and a quarter years, I just can't see how .09% of the population opting out of conventional insurance is making it "unsustainable"... especially when you consider that the US is becoming more secular and less Christian. Non-Christians aren't likely to see too much appeal in something completely unregulated. I mean, I guess it looks great when you're paying just a tiny bit each month, but when they go bankrupt and can't help you what are you gonna do?

 

Bear in mind that 62 million Americans are on Medicaid, 42 million are on Medicare, and another 6 million have military or VA health benefits. So right off the bat you've got about 1/3 of the population not even in the market for health insurance.

 

The WSJ had an article in January saying the healthshare ministries numbers have more than doubled since 2010 because of Obamacare. I never heard of anyone using one until maybe 5 years ago but now it seems like it gets brought up in every discussion about health insurance.

[AmandaVT]

This is what we have done for years.  We view it not as "health coverage" but "health insurance."  We have an obscenely high deductible, but very low monthly payments.  I've never hit the deductible, but we set aside the "extra" we would pay for the health *coverage*--and I've never come away with a deficit.  Most years, it has been a MUCH better outcome for our bank account.

 

Basically, it's like the casinos in Las Vegas...the House wins.  

 

I did come close to the deductible the year I had a basal cell carcinoma removed from my face and the two followup plastic surgeries...but even then, we didn't pay as much for the medical care as we would have paid for the medical coverage.

 

The insurance is there against catastrophe, not normal health care expense.  

 

I would note that there has been a lot of news lately about how insurance costs will rise steeply this year.  That is because there are certain coverages mandated by the Affordable Care Act, and that just causes the price to rise.  We have seen this in our insurance, even though it is still relatively low.  (Family of three, $700 a month...and that is up from $400 over the past three years....)

 

How high is your deductible? I thought $4k per person with a 12k per person out of pocket for the year was pretty high. There was one plan we could pick from with a higher deductible ($6k/person) but it would have only saved us $100 a month.

[vonfirmath]

We just got our statement of our union's health insurance fund. I know rates are going up. They used to have Cash on hand of about 2.5 million dollars. They spent $1.5 million more than they took in last year.  We can't do that a second year in a row.

 

[Crimson Wife]

Yeah see I don't even feel like the quality is all that great.  You don't get much for the money.

 

This may be location. The facilities and doctors I have access to where I live are some of the best in the world.

[Tanaqui]

The WSJ had an article in January saying the healthshare ministries numbers have more than doubled since 2010 because of Obamacare.

 

So right off the bat you've got about 1/3 of the population not even in the market for health insurance.

 

 

Okay, so we just did percentages and all this year.

 

Let's say the numbers have doubled from .09%, or even more than doubled (because the math is easier) and are now .5%.

 

.5% of 2/3 of the population = 1/20 x 2/3 = 1/10 x 1/3 = 1/30 of the population, or somewhat less than 4%.

 

Which is still a drop in the bucket.

 

I never heard of anyone using one until maybe 5 years ago but now it seems like it gets brought up in every discussion about health insurance.

 

I really hope you don't take this the wrong way, but is it possible that this has more to do with whom you speak to than with actual nationwide trends?

[SparklyUnicorn]

This may be location. The facilities and doctors I have access to where I live are some of the best in the world.

 

There are a ton of options here, so that is a plus, but so far I have not been impressed.  I felt like the docs I had in CT were better than where I am now in NY. 

[Murphy101]

I'm always amused by "best medical care in the world" statements. Says who? And realize even if they happen to live somewhere that just happens to have the top elite 100 Drs in their professions - those drs can only see a drop in the bucket of how many people need to be seen - so obviously a lot of people even in that area are not being seen by the "best". All those other people are being seen by someone not the best or maybe even not seen at all.

 

I mean sure I'd like to have the confidence to say I'm being seen by the best there is too. But mostly I'd be content to have insurance that makes it more affordable to see someone decently competent and still buy groceries.

[Guest]

How high is your deductible? I thought $4k per person with a 12k per person out of pocket for the year was pretty high. There was one plan we could pick from with a higher deductible ($6k/person) but it would have only saved us $100 a month.

 

$10K per year per person.  I seem to be the most expensive.

 

I do the math on this every year, but as it has been a few months...bear with me.  These numbers are made up but only in terms of specificity, not in terms of "close enough".  

 

We are both over 55, which increases the rates somewhat compared to when we were younger.  In the next couple of years, my dh will go on Medicare, so that will swap some things around, too.  Then it will be my turn to go on Medicare and about the same time, my son will turn 26 so he will *definitely* be off our plan by then.  I mention these things because they do impact the way we think about our insurance plan and its cost.  

 

Anyway, IIRC, the next step down on our coverage was to a $4K deductible, and the monthly would have been about $950 a month.  So we keep about $250 a month, about $3000 per year.  Of course, we *spend* some of that on doctors, but not a lot...at the most, $1000.  MOST years.  When one breaks one's arm (cleaning the kitchen---I'll never do THAT again...), it's pretty much break-even (the numbers were different at that time, and it was still a win for us...the insurance was $400 per month for our family at the time...).  Still, the House wins, just like in Vegas.

 

It's hard to compare across states and plans, and we are still on a plan that has a lot of benefits that we would not get moving to an ACAct plan; we were grandfathered in according to "you can keep your plan."  But if we change one little thing about it, we are obligated to go to an ACA plan and that is a LOT more expensive.  So whether or not it saves us much money, we are keeping our high deductible plan because it is a GREAT plan that we couldn't get for double the money a month on an ACAct plan.  I *did* check this year.  I also checked for what we would pay if we lived in a different state and it was a LOT less (because they have different requirements for insurers in their state--requirements which made no never mind to us as we don't use the services they don't cover...if that makes sense).

 

Basic premises:  we are pretty healthy, don't have a lot of prescriptions, and the most expensive medical we have is my son's dentistry, which wouldn't be covered anyway.   :::scowls at son who didn't believe me when I told him to brush his teeth:::

[SparklyUnicorn]

I'm always amused by "best medical care in the world" statements. Says who? And realize even if they happen to live somewhere that just happens to have the top elite 100 Drs in their professions - those drs can only see a drop in the bucket of how many people need to be seen - so obviously a lot of people even in that area are not being seen by the "best". All those other people are being seen by someone not the best or maybe even not seen at all.

 

I mean sure I'd like to have the confidence to say I'm being seen by the best there is too. But mostly I'd be content to have insurance that makes it more affordable to see someone decently competent and still buy groceries.

 

Yeah I know.  I can't say for sure because it isn't like I have tons of comparisons to make, but I often feel like it's not a good value.  Who wants to spend $500 to spend five minutes with a doctor who barely even looks at you and just writes out a prescription? 

 

We once took our younger kid to a clinic in Germany when he was a baby (we were visiting).  There was no wait.  The doctor spent a lot of time with us.  And it didn't cost much. 

[bethben]

Have they applied for SCHIP for the kids? A lot of modest income families qualify and then they could just worry about covering the adults. SCHIP has different names in each state but all states have a program for covering children at little or no cost to parents if their income is modest.

 

Just a caution with these type of programs.  As more and more people sign up for these programs, more and more doctors refuse to take them as insurance.  We qualified when we lived in a small town (the income level for our family was $90K - we made much less than that) and were able to find clinics that accepted it no problem.  When we moved to a larger city, there were very few pediatricians that would accept the program.  Once my husband got a better job with better benefits, I hightailed it out of that program even though we still qualified.  So, yes, these are great programs for people who really can't afford healthcare for their kids, but be aware that there may be a limit of which doctors can afford to accept this as insurance.  

 

Dentists are particularly resistant to accept these programs.  My sister, who's kids are on a program like this, couldn't find a dentist anywhere close to her that would take it and were reduced to the free dentist clinic through her public school.  Nothing like a dental cleaning on a lawn chair.  Still - free which really was their only option for a dental visit at that time.

[Alessandra]

What scares me even more than current insurance premiums is the rate at which they are rising. Actually, I don't want to think about it. The only thing that makes me happy is fantasizing that congressmen and public employees pay their own way to be on a plan like mine. I am very tired of my taxes paying for them -- AND their families -- to have a better plan than mine.

 

Obviously, I should not have opened this thread.

[creekland]

If they are Christians I back the Christian medical share plans.  We use Samaritans and love it.

 

Ditto.  We've been with them for over a decade (family of 5).  I can't imagine where we'd have been financially now if we'd stuck with insurance instead.  I shudder to think about it.  I guess like many we'd be broke or owing in the 6 digits - if I could have even gotten care for some of the things done.

 

They've covered my brain tumor, both carpal surgeries, more exploration of symptoms, this latest "lump" that was removed (all for just me), my son's developing epilepsy, another son breaking a collar bone, and hubby blacking out in our horse pasture.  No deductible.  No OOP costs.  Any doctor or hospital we've chosen.  Literally no issues at all from them.

 

Oh, and unless I choose to quit medical "stuff" (very possible as I really don't like it), they're there until the end - very supportive.

 

All at something like $405/month for the whole family, and we pay all "basics" like annual checkups/mammograms, etc ourselves.  Considering we're saving at least $500/month just in premiums plus deductibles and OOP stuff, there's definitely oodles there to more than cover the basics.

 

Due to the brain tumor bit, I highly recommend folks go for the "no limit" option.

 

But yes, it's only an option (with Samaritans) for Christians and Congress has deemed that no more of these can be created to cover other groups.   :glare:

[AmandaVT]

$10K per year per person.  I seem to be the most expensive.

 

I do the math on this every year, but as it has been a few months...bear with me.  These numbers are made up but only in terms of specificity, not in terms of "close enough".  

 

We are both over 55, which increases the rates somewhat compared to when we were younger.  In the next couple of years, my dh will go on Medicare, so that will swap some things around, too.  Then it will be my turn to go on Medicare and about the same time, my son will turn 26 so he will *definitely* be off our plan by then.  I mention these things because they do impact the way we think about our insurance plan and its cost.  

 

Anyway, IIRC, the next step down on our coverage was to a $4K deductible, and the monthly would have been about $950 a month.  So we keep about $250 a month, about $3000 per year.  Of course, we *spend* some of that on doctors, but not a lot...at the most, $1000.  MOST years.  When one breaks one's arm (cleaning the kitchen---I'll never do THAT again...), it's pretty much break-even (the numbers were different at that time, and it was still a win for us...the insurance was $400 per month for our family at the time...).  Still, the House wins, just like in Vegas.

 

It's hard to compare across states and plans, and we are still on a plan that has a lot of benefits that we would not get moving to an ACAct plan; we were grandfathered in according to "you can keep your plan."  But if we change one little thing about it, we are obligated to go to an ACA plan and that is a LOT more expensive.  So whether or not it saves us much money, we are keeping our high deductible plan because it is a GREAT plan that we couldn't get for double the money a month on an ACAct plan.  I *did* check this year.  I also checked for what we would pay if we lived in a different state and it was a LOT less (because they have different requirements for insurers in their state--requirements which made no never mind to us as we don't use the services they don't cover...if that makes sense).

 

Basic premises:  we are pretty healthy, don't have a lot of prescriptions, and the most expensive medical we have is my son's dentistry, which wouldn't be covered anyway.   :::scowls at son who didn't believe me when I told him to brush his teeth:::

 

When I was doing my insurance shopping earlier this year, I spoke with our pharmacist. Our local pharmacy offers a $12/year for the family "prescription plan". They have a list of prescriptions and it's decently sized, $3.99 a month or $9.99 for a 3 month supply. At the time, I was under the impression that we each needed to hit our deductible before pharmacy benefits would kick in, but that ended up not being the case. Still, it's good to know that our pharmacy offers that option! 

 

I was looking for a plan more similar to what you guys have, but we didn't have that option. We're generally pretty healthy, thankfully, so I'm expecting to pay $18,000 this year for peace of mind, but if anything does happen, at least we'll be sort of covered. 

 

Dental, on the other hand, I went for the good plan. It was only $200 and DH and I have really really good dental hygiene and less than good teeth. I've already needed two dentists appointments in a month and a half. Glad I went for the plan that covers dental work at 70%.

[Guest]

When I was doing my insurance shopping earlier this year, I spoke with our pharmacist. Our local pharmacy offers a $12/year for the family "prescription plan". They have a list of prescriptions and it's decently sized, $3.99 a month or $9.99 for a 3 month supply. At the time, I was under the impression that we each needed to hit our deductible before pharmacy benefits would kick in, but that ended up not being the case. Still, it's good to know that our pharmacy offers that option! 

 

I was looking for a plan more similar to what you guys have, but we didn't have that option. We're generally pretty healthy, thankfully, so I'm expecting to pay $18,000 this year for peace of mind, but if anything does happen, at least we'll be sort of covered. 

 

Dental, on the other hand, I went for the good plan. It was only $200 and DH and I have really really good dental hygiene and less than good teeth. I've already needed two dentists appointments in a month and a half. Glad I went for the plan that covers dental work at 70%.

 

That's really good info.  Thank you.  I didn't know about the pharmacy plans.  At the moment, my expenses are about $15 a month, but if that changes, I will look into it.  Same with dental.  Again, it varies by state, so it's hard to know what will be the case here...the last time I looked, the dental was FAR more than we would normally expect to pay for a year's worth of dental work.  But that didn't include my son's issues.  Ugh.

 

Washington has among the most restrictive and highest cost insurance plans in the country.  We had a really screwy insurance commissioner here a number of years ago, who made it a very undesirable state for insurance companies to serve.  At one point, you had two choices for self-paid insurance plans.  TWO.  Things have opened up in the succeeding years,, and the insurers started to come back, which increased competition and lowered rates, but the ACAct has clamped down again.  Washington (or maybe it is the US--I don't remember) has laws that prevent you from insuring across state lines, which was really annoying, because we could have gotten MUCH better coverage from more providers in Colorado.  It is possible that Vermont has the pharmacy plans and Washington does not...but I am going to find out.  When my DH goes on Medicare, that issue goes into THAT bucket...and I'm only a few years behind him.  

[FaithManor]

Our annual premium is over $14,000 a year, so at $900 a month they already have a practical bargain. Still if the kids qualified for state insurance so only the two adults had to be covered that might help.

[umsami]

We pay about $1500 with a 4k deductible.  It sucks. 

 

Look into CHIP for the kids, but be aware that insuring two adults may be almost as expensive as insuring a whole family.  (Check first.)

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

Just a caution with these type of programs.  As more and more people sign up for these programs, more and more doctors refuse to take them as insurance.  We qualified when we lived in a small town (the income level for our family was $90K - we made much less than that) and were able to find clinics that accepted it no problem.  When we moved to a larger city, there were very few pediatricians that would accept the program.  Once my husband got a better job with better benefits, I hightailed it out of that program even though we still qualified.  So, yes, these are great programs for people who really can't afford healthcare for their kids, but be aware that there may be a limit of which doctors can afford to accept this as insurance.  

 

Dentists are particularly resistant to accept these programs.  My sister, who's kids are on a program like this, couldn't find a dentist anywhere close to her that would take it and were reduced to the free dentist clinic through her public school.  Nothing like a dental cleaning on a lawn chair.  Still - free which really was their only option for a dental visit at that time.

 

Must vary by state.

 

Our state kids program is great. There is a children dental clinic at the health department and they are wonderful. Vaccinations are at the health department too. Otherwise, we've had no issue so far seeing pediatricians, specialists, or urgent care facilities. 

[LucyStoner]

Just a caution with these type of programs. As more and more people sign up for these programs, more and more doctors refuse to take them as insurance. We qualified when we lived in a small town (the income level for our family was $90K - we made much less than that) and were able to find clinics that accepted it no problem. When we moved to a larger city, there were very few pediatricians that would accept the program. Once my husband got a better job with better benefits, I hightailed it out of that program even though we still qualified. So, yes, these are great programs for people who really can't afford healthcare for their kids, but be aware that there may be a limit of which doctors can afford to accept this as insurance.

 

Dentists are particularly resistant to accept these programs. My sister, who's kids are on a program like this, couldn't find a dentist anywhere close to her that would take it and were reduced to the free dentist clinic through her public school. Nothing like a dental cleaning on a lawn chair. Still - free which really was their only option for a dental visit at that time.

We live in a city that is pretty well covered with providers that take SCHIP and the college dental clinic as well as the county dental clinics take it. So it varies a lot. My niece and nephew are in it and I haven't found it too hard to get them seen for anything. My sons have it as secondary insurance (even with our great coverage the co-pays add up for a single income family with two kids on the spectrum) and it's accepted by all of our prior providers except for their eye specialist, the dentist and some OT places. We just pay the copays for the eye place and we've never had OOP costs for their dental. It's also why we have ABA without OOP costs. It's worth looking into before writing it off. Also hospitals and the affliated outpatient clinics generally take it. It's probably easier to find providers in places with large medical centers. Edited May 19, 2016 by LucyStoner

[ktgrok]

We're paying $336 a month WEEK, including life and health and vision and dental insurance for our family. We have a $600 per person deductible, which is incredibly low compared to what we used to have (I think 3K per person at last job.)

 

Edited to correct typo!

Edited May 19, 2016 by ktgrok

[Guest]

We're paying $336 a month including life and health and vision and dental insurance for our family. We have a $600 per person deductible, which is incredibly low compared to what we used to have (I think 3K per person at last job.)

I assume this is a work policy that is being heavily subsidized by the employer? Because, damn, that is dirt cheap!!

[SparklyUnicorn]

We're paying $336 a month including life and health and vision and dental insurance for our family. We have a $600 per person deductible, which is incredibly low compared to what we used to have (I think 3K per person at last job.)

 

That sounds similar to what we have.  It's a bit more per month (around $400), but the deductible is $500.  A lot of stuff is not subject to the deductible either.  Any kind of routine is not, regular office visits are not, talk therapy with a social worker is not, walk in clinics are not, etc. 

[ktgrok]

I assume this is a work policy that is being heavily subsidized by the employer? Because, damn, that is dirt cheap!!

 

AACK! Typo! That should have said per WEEK not per month!!!!!

[ktgrok]

That sounds similar to what we have.  It's a bit more per month (around $400), but the deductible is $500.  A lot of stuff is not subject to the deductible either.  Any kind of routine is not, regular office visits are not, talk therapy with a social worker is not, walk in clinics are not, etc. 

 

No,I just made a typo. That price is per week, not per month. 

[Guest]

AACK! Typo! That should have said per WEEK not per month!!!!!

Dang. Too good to be true. To the OP, no, there are no reasonable plans.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I assume this is a work policy that is being heavily subsidized by the employer? Because, damn, that is dirt cheap!!

 

Not sure about her, but the company DH works for is self funded.  Basically that means they pay all the claims from their own accounts.  They pay a fee for the insurance company to basically act as the administrator and for the discounts/contracts they negotiate. So I imagine their premiums are a reflection of how much they are paying out for claims.  So this isn't about the insurance company also wanting to make a profit.  No clue if that in fact keeps costs lower, but it seems very likely that it could.

[SparklyUnicorn]

No,I just made a typo. That price is per week, not per month. 

 

Oh...well, mine was per month.

[SparklyUnicorn]

And I don't know how many people realize this, but premiums are often determined based on the type of job the company business is mostly about.  If they do a job notorious for causing injury, etc. or the employees are configured in certain ways (average age, etc.) that is related.  So, places of employment with a larger number of older employees or where the job is more physically demanding the premiums might be higher. 

 

So the factors are not straightforward.