Health Insurance

[CiK]

I have neglected the topic of premiums, deductibles, copays and coinsurance for too long. Any recommendation on places to go for meaningful education on health insurance 101 for dummies? I simply would like to understand if I am getting a good deal on a plan or not or if my company plan is crap.

Thank you! Stay safe!!

 

[CiK]

Found some good reading material for anybody else wondering.

Summary of Findings - 9335 | KFF

Employer-sponsored insurance covers over half of the non-elderly population; approximately 153 million nonelderly people in total.1 To provide current information about employer-sponsored health benefits, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) conducts an annual survey of private and non-federal...

www.kff.org

 

[Pucky Freak]

4 Strategies That Could Help You Save on Healthcare—with a Catch

As the cost of traditional health insurance continues to rise, some individuals and families are scouting different methods to lower costs.

www.investopedia.com

Health Insurance

Health insurance can keep a medical emergency from turning into a financial one. Learn about the different types of health insurance and how to find coverage.

www.thebalance.com

How Healthcare Sharing Programs Compare To Traditional Insurance

How healthcare sharing programs compare to traditional insurance, and considerations for advisors who may be helping clients evaluate such programs.

www.kitces.com

May be worth checking out cost sharing plans, as an alternative.

 

[JohnCushman]

Go in the military and retire and have health insurance the rest of your life for the family

 

[EYJONAS!]

I'm doing the cost sharing along with a flex health plan for a primary. Basically I pay 150 per month per family of 4 and we get unlimited visits to a primary care physician. He can pretty much do anything outside of internals or specialty stuff. You can't beat that with a regular clinic. Then I do med share for the 3 others besides myself because I'm covered through work. 10500 catastrophic coverage. Costs 150 per month for them. So for 300 bucks per month I get a on call physician and 10500 catastrophic coverage. Vs 800 for 12k catastrophic with Bcbs.

Once my wife is full time at hospital though we will switch everyone over to hers. That's a no brainer. Health insurance has to be the biggest racket in this country.... your effed if you don't have it yet you can't afford it for your family.

 

[DouglasR]

Will they let me put the bills on a payment plan if I oversend it in Colorado this winter and break my leg?
If I’m a single guy with just a house, car and cat am I better off just not having it and planning on defaulting if things go south?
I think I’m looking at about $250 a month for $16,000 out of network deductible with a $28,500 out of pocket limit.

How much does a knees replacement cost?
What is the best healthcare option for going full send?

 

[DouglasR]

I’m 31 and self employed.
I’ve been paying $40 a month for 5 years to go to this private clinic deal that’s ran by this dude that’s basically @wllm1313 and mrs wllm combined into one person.
In those 5 years I’ve been there once to have an ingrown hair cyst removed from my neck.
I don’t go to the doctor.
Literally laid down on his desk and got it drained 30min after calling him about it.
He says he can fix broken lower leg bones in his office.
If the big upper bone he thinks I’ll prob have to go to the hospital.

Is the risk of something going catastrophically wrong worth $28,500 plus $250 a month?

 

[Pucky Freak]

If I were in your shoes I’d get a qualified High deductible, low premium plan, plus max out an HSA. Like you, I am very healthy and rarely utilize healthcare. It is the risk of a catastrophic health event bankrupting you that is the main thing to consider. If you pad your HSA over a few years to get up to 40k or something, then when/if you experience a blown out knee or similar you just write a check from your HSA and don’t have to worry about how you’re going to come up with the $, be in debt, etc.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

My daughter’s ACL replacement was somewhere around $50k as I recall. The follow ups to remove scar tissue were over $10k. Our family out of pocket max is $4k. We were able to do installments on our portion.

 

[westbranch]

My sister blew up her ankle this past summer and is paying monthly with zero interest for her share.

Are the hospitals in CO actually out of network?

Max out an HSA before a retirement plan if you have an HSA eligible plan. When I ruptured my Achilles a few years ago I had funds in the HSA ready to go. Can also use for dental if you don't have dental insurance. This also came in handy for me when I didn't go to the dentist for years due to having to pay out of pocket.

 

[OntarioHunter]

What a mess! Copay, deductible, preferred physician, what's "experimental treatment" and what isn't, etc., etc. Glad I don't have to deal with the American health care pirates and their first mate insurance companies any longer. I would drop my travel insurance (sorry excuse for insurance anyway) except I'm in Africa often. In the States I am covered by Veterans Affairs. Haven't used Medicare since turning 65. Not sure if I'm even enrolled any longer. Don't care. No point in it. I feel for you guys. Really.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

It is a mess. I spent a couple hours on the phone one day after my wife had an outpatient procedure done. We had a significant bill from the anesthesiologist, which should have been covered. The answer I got was the anesthesiologist was an out of network provider. I asked why the hell our network physician used an out of network anesthesiologist. I was told “that was who was available today”.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Go in the military and retire and have health insurance the rest of your life for the family

Not for the family. Not as far as I know. That benefit went out the window quite suddenly back in 1974. I remember it well. I was military police shift sergeant at Madigan Hospital in Tacoma when it went down. Had to deal with angry retirees causing problems at the facility. One guy whose wife had been getting cancer treatment abducted an ER doctor at gunpoint and barricaded himself in their motorhome. I felt like giving him my extra ammo. Very sad. Made me cry. Actually, we were all crying, including the doctor. It was quite the standoff but resolved peacefully and the one-star in charge of the hospital was agreeable to sweeping the whole incident under the rug.

 

[JohnCushman]

Not for the family. Not as far as I know. That benefit went out the window quite suddenly back in 1974. I remember it well. I was military police shift sergeant at Madigan Hospital in Tacoma when it went down. Had to deal with angry retirees causing problems at the facility. One guy whose wife had been getting cancer treatment abducted an ER doctor at gunpoint and barricaded himself in their motorhome. I felt like giving him my extra ammo. Very sad. Made me cry. Actually, we were all crying, including the doctor. It was quite the standoff but resolved peacefully and the one-star in charge of the hospital was agreeable to sweeping the whole incident under the rug.

My son is covered under my Tricare

 

[OntarioHunter]

It is a mess. I spent a couple hours on the phone one day after my wife had an outpatient procedure done. We had a significant bill from the anesthesiologist, which should have been covered. The answer I got was the anesthesiologist was an out of network provider. I asked why the hell our network physician used an out of network anesthesiologist. I was told “that was who was available today”.

Right, and of course the out of network anesthesiologist didn't give a $$$ kickback to your network clinic for picking him that day.

 

[OntarioHunter]

My son is covered under my Tricare

How does that work? You're a retiree?

 

[JohnCushman]

How does that work? You're a retiree?

Yes I am

 

[Beanland_fan]

Every time I feel like bitching about the cost of insurance, I remember that i can walk into a gun store and with a few exceptions pretty much buy whatever I want, and walk out with it.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Yes I am

I see that your insurance costs $300/year for family coverage and covers just about everything medical, no strings attached. Not clear about optical and dental. A helluva deal really. You deserve no less! Thank you for your service.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Every time I feel like bitching about the cost of insurance, I remember that i can walk into a gun store and with a few exceptions pretty much buy whatever I want, and walk out with it.

I don't have to walk into a gun store to buy what I want. "With a few exceptions," I can order one on line from a store or individual on the other side of Canada and it'll be mailed to my doorstep. Almost as easy as walking into the ER anytime I want and not having to worry about being tossed out if I don't have insurance. Anyway, for me having a safe full of guns has never been as important as staying healthy. But that's just me.