Health insurance?

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Dan The Man

Dan The Man

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Canute's post in Rick's full time thread got me thinking what to yous do for health insurance? Any time I've priced it out it's like $300/mo for individual coverage. I don't need anything high end just the usual to cover doctors visits and ER visits if I get really ill.

A few weeks back I was speaking to a buddy of mine that owns a farm and he's part of a collective or something like that. Basically it's a bunch of business owners that bargain for health, disability, and life insurance as a group that seems pretty neat but he wasn't too sure about the details.

To me it just seems to go for medical insurance on your own they really put you over a barrel.
 
Big Dan said:
Canute's post in Rick's full time thread got me thinking what to yous do for health insurance? Any time I've priced it out it's like $300/mo for individual coverage. I don't need anything high end just the usual to cover doctors visits and ER visits if I get really ill.

A few weeks back I was speaking to a buddy of mine that owns a farm and he's part of a collective or something like that. Basically it's a bunch of business owners that bargain for health, disability, and life insurance as a group that seems pretty neat but he wasn't too sure about the details.

To me it just seems to go for medical insurance on your own they really put you over a barrel.
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Your buddy is correct, there are co-ops for the self employed. If you want savings then bundle your Life Insurance, Health Insurance, Home Insurance etc and the rate will be reduced. If you are a pretty healthy fella, then put aside that money in a savings and they may be available funds when you want to go to the Doctor. Seek out a Out Patient Clinic rather than a Hospital or ER to reduce the cost.
 
So for the record, I just checked out my pay stub for the following benefits, I pay $279.86 per month for both Anna and myself.

Medical, dental, vision, accidental death, long term disability, short term disability, my parking and life insurance

Those are the benefits that I pay for, there are other benefits that we don't have to pay for...retirement contributions, tuition remission for self, spouses and children. Yes I pay for some benefits, but at the same time, the benefits I do get, I get at rates that no individual can get.
 
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DJ J Mac said:
So for the record, I just checked out my pay stub for the following benefits, I pay $279.86 per month for both Anna and myself.

Medical, dental, vision, accidental death, long term disability, short term disability, my parking and life insurance

Those are the benefits that I pay for, there are other benefits that we don't have to pay for...retirement contributions, tuition remission for self, spouses and children. Yes I pay for some benefits, but at the same time, the benefits I do get, I get at rates that no individual can get.
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Yep there are things that may be subsidized for you but again, it is all in your earnings package. Your employer gets to write off these expenses and these items are used to keep employees from leaving. It ain't free.
 
rickryan.com said:
Guys what is your deductible? Last time I was Indy we cranked our deductible to 10k and you'd be amazed how cheaper it became. Self insure as much as you can even if it means a small loan in case of a catastrophic event.
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The health plan we went with doesn't have a deductible, we'd never reach it. For a normal doctor's visit it's $20, specialist it's $40, ER it's $350 (that's it regardless of what is done). Also, we're in a cheaper area than some of the Indy suburbs.
 
steve149 said:
And see where it's gotten you :)



Faith needs to be cared for when you drop.
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When I was paying for a family plan it was about $12,000 /yr ($900 /mo) and I bought it through a State program that enabled small business owners and Sole Proprietors to acquire group rates from Health Insurance providers like Blue Cross, Harvard, etc. I believe that same rate today is between $18,000 and 24,000 /yr.

If you are looking at a W-2 from from your employer - you could be seeing only about 20% of the actual cost of your health insurance - with the rest being paid by the employer on your behalf. Some states now require that the employer provide you with an annual statement of these benefits paid on your behalf as a representation of the total value of your compensation package.
 
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I love living in Oz

we get FREE health care , but we can also pay for it (of which the government wants to stop free eventually)
 
We had great health insurance here. (full time job)
Then we got taken over by an investment group (Bain Capital) and they switched providers.
It used to be $30 co-pay, $60 for specialist, and all other tests and procedures included.
Now, the co-pays are the same, but no other tests and procedures are included,
there is a huge deductible, and after you meet it, they only pay 80%.
Oh yeah, and the price went up to almost $800 a month for family coverage.
 
steve149 said:
Faith needs to be cared for when you drop.
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Wouldn't matter -- my closest relative is 300+ miles away, and they hate dogs. Odds are, since nobody else lives around here, and most of the businesses have closed -- nobody would know for weeks.
 
DJ J Mac said:
The health plan we went with doesn't have a deductible, we'd never reach it. For a normal doctor's visit it's $20, specialist it's $40, ER it's $350 (that's it regardless of what is done). Also, we're in a cheaper area than some of the Indy suburbs.
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I didn't say co-pay, I said deductible, as in yearly. Most work-based plans seem to run in the $2000-$4000 per year range. If you're buying it yourself it makes much more sense to buy catastrophic coverage only and self-insure for the little stuff, especially if you're relatively healthy. The difference in premiums often is huge and will more than make up for you having to paying the doc-in-a-box place for your sinus infection meds. Don't just buy what they offer. Ask questions and find out what works best for your situation.
 
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Ausumm said:
We had great health insurance here. (full time job)
Then we got taken over by an investment group (Bain Capital) and they switched providers.
It used to be $30 co-pay, $60 for specialist, and all other tests and procedures included.
Now, the co-pays are the same, but no other tests and procedures are included,
there is a huge deductible, and after you meet it, they only pay 80%.
Oh yeah, and the price went up to almost $800 a month for family coverage.
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Bain Capital......That must have been your buddy Mitt Romney and his cohorts. :)
 
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ahoustondj said:
Bain Capital......That must have been your buddy Mitt Romney and his cohorts. :)
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It is Romney and the boys.
But don't even THINK of calling him MY BUDDY!

- - - Updated - - -

rickryan.com said:
If you're buying it yourself it makes much more sense to buy catastrophic coverage only and self-insure for the little stuff, especially if you're relatively healthy.
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Have you seen the prices of a simple check up these days?
In the world of healthcare, there is no such thing as "little stuff".
 
Ausumm said:
Have you seen the prices of a simple check up these days?
In the world of healthcare, there is no such thing as "little stuff".
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How many times per year do you go have things done that run into the hundreds of dollars? If you're paying for out of pocket, not many. Now add up what it will cost for a "catastrophic policy" against a more mainstream "cover it all". We're talking hundreds of dollars PER MONTH difference in rates. If you have an employer who's picking up a lot of the tab, take the cadillac stuff that's available. If you're paying for it yourself, run the numbers.
 
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Ausumm said:
It is Romney and the boys.
But don't even THINK of calling him MY BUDDY!
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Mike and the Roof Dog! (for those that listen to WFAN, my apologies)
 
Unless you have a FT working spouse that can get healthcare for the family, I have no idea how FT DJs can afford healthcare for themselves & their family. How do you do it?
 
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As Rick mentioned, you can buy catastrophic insurance and pay out of pocket for routine care. You can get coverage for a family of 4 for around $800 a month (usually with a $10K deductible). Wellness checkup might be covered, but almost everything else isn't. I know some small business organizations (Chamber, etc.) offer discounts to members, and I believe even some of the membership clubs (Costco, etc.) have discounted plans.
 
Bill Kexel said:
Unless you have a FT working spouse that can get healthcare for the family, I have no idea how FT DJs can afford healthcare for themselves & their family. How do you do it?
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First don't get sick. Second, see above post.
 
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