RICH

So, after listening to the employees via a survey, my company came up with a new and improved healthcare "benefit". Without going into specifics, it is really just a PR effort.

I am curious what everyone considers "good" insurance versus what they get/need. Personally I have not needed use any medical services for years, and thus resent paying premiums at all, plus a smoking penalty.

michaelr711

I'm coming up on open enrollment so i'm very interested in some responses for this!

RICH

I should add the 2 choices on offer, for single person via UHC annual. Includes $25*26 =$650 smoker punishment.

a) CoPay advantage - premium $2900 - max out of pocket $4900
b)HSA advantage - $1700 - moop $6200

I have no experience as to what is or is not covered, but I will be going with option b. Fortunately I have the $6k in my HSA already in case of disaster!

tom169

My HSA plan comes out at $733 per year. My wife's ends up about $100 a year.

Rete

My daughter's husband's healthcare mandates that they put $600 every two weeks into the HSA which is $15,600 per annum. Their hospitalization doesn't kick in until they have spent $10,000 per year. And this is employer sponsored. Unfortunately, having a child who is on the spectrum they meet this $10,000 deductible by November of each year for therapy alone. For them, it is like not having healthcare insurance at all. The only pro is that it is tax free savings.

RICH

Thanks for playing!
What do you mean "ends up"? How much are you/she paying in premiums, and what is the max out of pocket?
Both plans sound like a good deal from here

RICH

There is a max you can put into HSA, perhaps that is it? I thought it was much less.
Still, for comparison, what are the premium & moop? (I know you probably don't know)

Giantaxe

Are you sure about that? The max deductible HSA contribution for a family high deductible plan is $6,900. Are you allowed to contribute beyond that limit?

The "pro" is that you are insuring against costs in excess of $10k a year. As we've seen on this forum, even a relatively small hospitalization can cost $$$. For example, my outpatient sinus surgery cost $60k.

Rete

I know for certain it is $600 per pay check and there are 26 checks in a year. It virtually bankrupts the family and they live hand to mouth most months. Perhaps part of that $600 is also for premiums on the healthcare. That I don't know.

As for cost of hospitalization, my eldest daughter, who does not have healthcare at all, is undergoing breast cancer treatment, chemo for 16 weeks, then radiation and then surgery. The doctors and the hospital said not to worry. The hospital is a public hospital and cannot turn her away. The bills will just accumulate and they will pay what they can afford on a monthly basis.

Your outpatient surgery charge was, IMHO, excessive. Her MRIC and PETSCAN were only $1,600 at a private lab. It would have cost $2,800 at the hospital lab. She pays for all private lab work in full at each occurrence. I'm sure the total cost will be in the hundred thousands when she is finished. As the financial office of the hospital said, you pay what you can monthly. We can't go after you and if you want we can hand it over to a collection agency which will then accept 1/4 of the total cost if paid in cash as payment in full.

The ACA made their ability to have healthcare financially unaffordable. Their former healthcare's new premium after ACA became law and the increased deductible meant that they would have paid $240,000 in premiums in 10 years and $150,000 in deductible.

Giantaxe

So probably $265 a pay check is the tax-deductible contribution to their own HSA and the rest ($335) is premium. They should be able to pay that with pre-tax dollars as well. Still extortionate, of course, but given that the HSA contribution is a contribution to themselves and the tax-deductibility of everything, not quite as awful as it seems on the face of it.

RICH

$8710 in premiums is a lot. I suppose it depends what you earn. I am in the under $50k bracket, and $1700 seems like a lot!

scrubbedexpat091

Healthcare is the only thing keeping me in Canada, wish they could figure out an affordable universal system down there so I could come back home....

Rete

Unfortunately, they are in much the same bracket so financially it is a killer. With a child that requires therapy to learn to deal with her condition, it is a necessity.

tom169

That's the premiums. I think the deductible for each of us is in the $5-6k range.

Jack8602

Wife and i have separate plans, as hers is better for her company.

I pay $45 per paycheck, and add an additional $75 to go into my HSA. Company add $500 per year to that HSA balance also.

$1,170/year premium and $2,450/year for HSA savings (including company $500).

I have a deductible of $2k and max out of pocket of $4k in network. Double both figures for out of network

I'm relatively happy with what i pay and what i get.