Healthcare Insurance

[Helena]

If you pay premiums for your medical or dental insurance
how much ?

[TromboneAl]

$420/month for HSA high deductible Blue Cross (ages 52 and 50).

I'm guessing that it doesn't make sense to have dental insurance. If you use insurance to make things cheaper, on average you're gonna lose (otherwise, how could the insurance companies make money?). Insurance is for protecting against a catatstrophic expense that you could never afford.

[hellbender]

Health Insurance:

Blue Cross/Blue Shield (Fee for Service)
Standard Self and Family
Deductible: $250.00/Person/Annum
RX Plan

$293.78/Month
Premium Conversion allows payment with untaxed dollars.

[dlhanson]

BP Retirement medical
Deductible $2500 per person / $5000 per family
I pay $50 per month
(this covers me, wife and youngest son but I have no cost
coverage with my current employer also which covers only me)

[Gumby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl I'm guessing that it doesn't make sense to have dental insurance.

My wife and I each had dental insurance at work and were each on the other's policy. I finally figured out that, due to limitations on the procedures covered and the rates that could be charged, together with coordination of benefits rules, the premiums on my dental insurance were more than double what the insurance actually paid out over the past three years, so I stopped the insurance. (I am a slow learner). We will stick with just the wife's policy and make up any shortfall in cash.

[uncledrz]

full coverage medical, low deductible, 80/20, rx. $750 a month. expect it to go higher over the next decade by a rate of at least double the rate of inflation.

[perinova]

www.tnhis.com has a nice table comparing cost of single and family coverage in every state. It is the median or average cost .
Someone on the forum noticed that above a certain age or health condition it is usually much higher.
Still a good table to compare between states...
PA is the cheapest. NJ the most expensive.

[Helena]

Fortunately my early retirement package
includes fully funded medical and dental.

However, this benefit was dropped years
ago for the newer employees.

By the way, have you heard about the
new company healthcare plans that require
employees to get certain kinds of expensive
medical care abroad [in third world nations
where it is cheaper !]

[Helena]

Companies explore overseas healthcare

To cut its insurance costs, a US papermaker plans to let workers seek medical care abroad in 2007.


from the August 16, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0816/p03s03-usec.html

[donheff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Helena To cut its insurance costs, a US papermaker plans to let workers seek medical care abroad in 2007.

Hummm. If BC/BS offered share in savings, I might consider a trip to India for a fairly routine procedure.

[ShokWaveRider]

$800 pm, $3k Total Out of Pocket ($1500 Ded $1500 copay) $30 Doc Visits, $30 Most Drugs. IMHO only Average Drugs plan and no dental. But I have a Pacemaker. (52 me 49 Wife) She is as healthy as a horse save a few common aches and pains. It is a Cobra left over from some part time work I did where I was covered (When I got the Pacemaker) I have a year left. And we are in Florida so after 18months someone HAS to insure you. Still at a silly price though.

Schools out whether to do the 6 months in Canada and 6 months US thing. But the cost of the extra 6 month accomodation in both places may outweigh the med costs. (Yes we are both Canadian and US Citizens)

SWR

[TromboneAl]

Remember to carefully spreadsheet the costs for different deductibles. At one point I found that the benefits of a lower deductible were erased by the higher premiums (there's a quantitative post on this somewhere here).

[Martha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by perinova www.tnhis.com has a nice table comparing cost of single and family coverage in every state. It is the median or average cost . Someone on the forum noticed that above a certain age or health condition it is usually much higher. Still a good table to compare between states... PA is the cheapest. NJ the most expensive.

As I mentioned when we discussed this book and the tables before, the tables are based on cost for someone 35 and healthy. Not too helpful if you don't fit in those categories. For example, NJ is very expensive if you are 35 and healthy, but you can buy health insurance in NJ for the same price if you are older and not healthy. Other states that have very cheap rates for the young and healthy may have nothing at all for anyone with the slightest health problem beyond their risk pool or very high priced plans.