Medical Insurance – what do you pay?

[Dangermouse]

As this is a group of people in various states and various companies, I would like to ask for some general info on what people are paying for medical insurance in 2014, as mine has just jumped. I know it’s like car insurance where every situation is different, but still.

Note 1 – this is not an anti/pro Obamacare thread. This is not a political thread. Please do not explain/rant on why insurance is so expensive, or how we are going to change it. I am specifically looking for data to evaluate whether I am being screwed over with my current plan (and by “screwed over”, I mean in comparison to other people), or this is just the norm now.

Note 2 - US members only. All you Canadians, Brits, Aussies, Greeks and Italians can just sit back and think about what DeLorean parts you would be buying for the monthly premiums we are paying (and yes, I know it’s included in your taxes. Again, not the point of this thread).

So for 2014, my plan upped its premium and also added a deductible for prescriptions, effectively meaning that I am well worse off than I was last year. To the point where I would consider changing jobs.


Ins Co: Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO
My company size: 60
Monthly premium: $170 individual, $420 family of 4
Medical deductible: $1500 indiv/$3000 family
Prescription deductible: combined with medical
Dr Office visit: $10 copay
Dr Office – specialist $35 copay
Most other things: 20% co-insurance after the deductible has been met.

What’s yours?

[OverlandMan]

My premiums increased 20% over last year. I currently carry myself and my wife through my company's plan. I'm also using a PPO instead of the cheaper HSA options. My wife's care necessitates the PPO versus the HSA options.

The actual numbers for me come out to about $320 per payroll (I'm paid bi-weekly) so that translates to $8,320 annually pre-tax income.

That's a lot of $$ if you ask me and over the past 5 or 6 years, my health premiums have slowly risen, although nothing like this year. I've never had a double-digit percentage increase in one year!

I'm afraid I'll have to stop there because from this point forward there's no way to discuss this without considering the political climate and the ACA/Obamacare/whatever you want to call it. It is DIRECTLY related to this discussion.

:lockdance:

[LordFly]

What's medical insurance? :biggrin:

[OverlandMan]

What's medical insurance? :biggrin:

You damn Canadians... stay off this post! :tongue2:

[Delorean02378]

Let's just say mine increased dramatically. I now have the privilege of paying the medical bills for those who sit around doing nothing and receive a check every month from the government which I also contribute to. I'll stop there before Chris shuts me down.

[DrJeff]

I like visiting the Delorean thread because I want too read, learn, and hear about Delorean related stuff. I don't visit other car forums and I don't visit political or general life threads to hear about Delorean stuff.

The downside is I read every thread. Call me petty but I hate having threads showing as unread... It just bugs me. Reading every thread is a form of stress reduction for me, which of course improves my health!

Did I just make the argument that this thread has a valid Delorean connection?

[Kane]

Let's just say mine increased dramatically. I now have the privilege of paying the medical bills for those who sit around doing nothing and receive a check every month from the government which I also contribute to. I'll stop there before Chris shuts me down.


Here's proof that this thread can't exist without getting political opinions that are just trying to stir things up. Please lock this thread for the good of my blood pressure.

[Dangermouse]

I'm afraid I'll have to stop there because from this point forward there's no way to discuss this without considering the political climate and the ACA/Obamacare/whatever you want to call it. It is DIRECTLY related to this discussion.

:lockdance:


Let's just say mine increased dramatically. I now have the privilege of paying the medical bills for those who sit around doing nothing and receive a check every month from the government which I also contribute to. I'll stop there before Chris shuts me down.

Not disagreeing/agreeing with either of these, but I am trying to assess whether I am being gouged disproportionately. As we know, political threads are prohibited, and I am trying not to go down that road (I hear dmctoday is open for your political business :) )

"Misery loves company" as they say, and I am just trying to appease myself (and moreso my wife), through a little data research, that jumping ship to another company wouldn't alleviate the pain

[valdez]

What's medical insurance? :biggrin:

It must be for doctors in case they get sued for malpractice.

[ccurzio]

Let's just say mine increased dramatically. I now have the privilege of paying the medical bills for those who sit around doing nothing and receive a check every month from the government which I also contribute to. I'll stop there before Chris shuts me down.

You know, Dermot said from the get-go that he didn't want political opinions seeping into this thread and it's a general rule of the forum, and you STILL have to post something like this just to sneak in a political attack? Come on.

You could have ended your post at "dramatically", and it would have been fine, but you had to go one step further and try and start a fire. DON'T DO THAT.


Here's proof that this thread can't exist without getting political opinions that are just trying to stir things up. Please lock this thread for the good of my blood pressure.

Seriously. For fuck's sake.

LEAVE THE POLITICS OUT OF THIS THREAD. FIRST AND ONLY WARNING.

[Jimmyvonviggle]

What's medical insurance? :biggrin:


That's not exactly correct. We get nickel and dimed in our so called free system as well. Be it blood tests, or office fees. Not to mention if you need a test (let's say an MRI) badly and don't want to wait 6 months you pay for it.

And on top of that my family pays an extra 300 a month to cover dental, physical therapy (because I am always twisting or spraining something), and eye exams up to 95%.

[DMCVegas]

My insurance went down by about $100 or so to less than $300 for 2 people. But I brought it back up with a contribution to my new HSA.

Signed up for a CDHP, or Consumer Driven Health Plan. It has it's plusses and minuses, but the gist of it's pretty simple: I pay for everything out of pocket (doctors visits, prescriptions, lab work, etc.) until I hit the deductible, in this case $6,000 a year. Once that's met, all other expenses for the remainder of the year are covered 100%.

The HSA is a Health Spending Account. I contribute what I like, pre-tax, up to a maximum of $6,500 per year. I get a specific debit card for the account that I pay for the medical expenses with. Unlike a Flex Spending account though, I don't loose any cash at all. The balance remains the same into the next fiscal year, and I can continue my contributions into the account. If I withdraw anything from the account for a non-medical expense, I get hit with a 20% tax penalty. But when I reach 65 (or heaven forbid become disabled) I can withdraw the money with no penalties. And if I die my beneficiary gets the cash tax free. So it also acts as a supplemental retirement fund and/or death benefit. It takes some time to build everything up, but it's something that really comes in handy for covering the expenses immediately.

[Bitsyncmaster]

I also have blue cross/blue shield. I'm on my last employ plan paying COBRA of $1008 a month for my wife and I. When I was employed my cost was about $400 a month. My co-pay for doctor is $20 and think I have a $6000 deductible. What I've seen this year is they don't pay blood work (about $50 each time). That deductible was $2500 a few years ago.

[David T]

I also have blue cross/blue shield. I'm on my last employ plan paying COBRA of $1008 a month for my wife and I. When I was employed my cost was about $400 a month. My co-pay for doctor is $20 and think I have a $6000 deductible. What I've seen this year is they don't pay blood work (about $50 each time). That deductible was $2500 a few years ago.

Like auto insurance it is made so you cannot directly compare across State lines. For some it may go down for many it will go up, for all the copays and deductibles will increase. Some will get subsidies but for how long? IMHO till the system goes broke. We can argue over how long that will take but the way it is working now it will happen. They will have to bail it out and stick Band-Aid patches on it like they have done with Medicare. For many who never had insurance they can now have it IF THEY CAN AFFORD IT!
The basic problem with all of this is that although we all call it "Health Insurance" that is not what we want. If health insurance was REALLY insurance (like house or car insurance) you have deductibles. The problem is that when people go to the doctor or the drugstore no one wants to pay ANYTHING. To have a gold plated plan like some used to have like the old BCBS that worked like that they got so expensive that no one has them anymore. Health insurance should be so if you have a catastrophic illness it doesn't force the family into bankruptcy. Not so you never pay deductibles and/or copays. If it worked like car insurance we also pay for the uninsured so no one gets turned away from a hospital. That is not the way many seem to want it to work. BTW, my insurance went up too but I still have my plan and doctor, at least for now. ACA is figuring out which doctors have the sickest (read expensive) patients and is dropping them out of the network so if you want to stay with ACA you won't be keeping your doctor. Watch the winter Olympics for the great commercials they are running for ACA next month. Your tax dollars at work!

[rdarlington]

Ugh, more junk cluttering up my unread messages list.

[ccurzio]

This is ridiculous. Dermot asked strictly for data and figures and specifically not politics, and people simply CANNOT RESIST interjecting political opinions anyway.

This is why we can't have nice things. Sorry Dermot, I'm locking this thread.