Are you self employed? What are you doing for insurance?

[barronj]

For our first kid, it was maternity ins. For #2, I negotiated a cash settlement for labor/delivery+ one night in a suite (the ONLY way to saty in a hospital after giving birth)... Hospitals give great* rates on cash offers.

*"great" is subjective.

[Denny]

I have BCBS through my employer and pay roughly 400 a month for the family on a 1500 individual and 3000 family deduction. I was quoted 770 a month to get that from them through my own means and 680 on my company's COBRA.

[Glen]

Why pay $400 a month? At that rate, you could just stock pile that in savings. Doctors charge uninsured less than the insured. If you have a 5K deductable and are paying that amount why bother? You could just put that money back and have it when something goes wrong and you need a doctor as opposed to giving the scammer insurance companies all that money.

[zemog]

For our first kid, it was maternity ins. For #2, I negotiated a cash settlement for labor/delivery+ one night in a suite (the ONLY way to saty in a hospital after giving birth)... Hospitals give great* rates on cash offers.

*"great" is subjective.

i definately agree here, my daughter has had 10 major surguries since age 16, shes now 20 (21 in april) so our insurance with bcbs has been used up for the most part, now there are alot of medical that hasnt been covered by insurance, just because thats how it goes (or how they make it go), so on my surgery (collectomy) i just negotiated a cash payment up from w/o insurance for 50k for everything, using insurance it was 120k , so who knows what they would actually cover anyway , sometimes its easier just to pay if you are able, but theres know way for my daughter we would have been able to afford all her bills, her insurance is just shy of 1m covered so it is very useful and i am thankfor for it and what they did cover

[SMEGMA STENCH]

I'm 38, wife is 30, kids are 4 & 2.

I've had Humana health insurance, for myself & the family, since before there was a family, and it was just the wife & I.

The premiums go up each year, due to my age, I'm told. I'm a non-smoker, no history of disease in the family, not terribly overweight or out of shape (6' 1", 210 lbs). White male.

My premium is $385, and it's going up to $420. We have a $5000 deductible, 70% in network.

We're all healthy... looking for some suggestions or any feedback for what others in my position have done.

Everyone I've ever known who was self employed has complained about the high cost of health insurance.

[mstng86]

Why pay $400 a month? At that rate, you could just stock pile that in savings. Doctors charge uninsured less than the insured. If you have a 5K deductable and are paying that amount why bother? You could just put that money back and have it when something goes wrong and you need a doctor as opposed to giving the scammer insurance companies all that money.

Sure , dont worry about that possibility of having a 50k visit to the hospital.

I pay about 550(eye, health, dentist) a month for a max out of pocket of 3k for family with aetna at my job. 550 is high IMO but i would rather not deal with a huge expense looming.

[ceyko]

Sure , dont worry about that possibility of having a 50k visit to the hospital.

I pay about 550(eye, health, dentist) a month for a max out of pocket of 3k for family with aetna at my job. 550 is high IMO but i would rather not deal with a huge expense looming.

550 is not bad. When I was job shopping, I had to negotiate retarded (for me) salaries to cover the 14-15K a year insurance costs for "family". That was for fairly sub-par insurance.

I'm surprised they don't (maybe they do and I don't know) have simple sites that you visit, put in your insurance requirements and get quotes back. Make it easy to shop.

[Grape]

I'm 38, wife is 30, kids are 4 & 2.

I've had Humana health insurance, for myself & the family, since before there was a family, and it was just the wife & I.

The premiums go up each year, due to my age, I'm told. I'm a non-smoker, no history of disease in the family, not terribly overweight or out of shape (6' 1", 210 lbs). White male.

My premium is $385, and it's going up to $420. We have a $5000 deductible, 70% in network.

We're all healthy... looking for some suggestions or any feedback for what others in my position have done.

that sounds pretty reasonable actually for the family included. I've been on my own insurance since i was 16, not too many claims. BCBS at age 33 is $390 with a $2500 ded, for me only.

[DON SVO]

i definately agree here, my daughter has had 10 major surguries since age 16, shes now 20 (21 in april) so our insurance with bcbs has been used up for the most part, now there are alot of medical that hasnt been covered by insurance, just because thats how it goes (or how they make it go), so on my surgery (collectomy) i just negotiated a cash payment up from w/o insurance for 50k for everything, using insurance it was 120k , so who knows what they would actually cover anyway , sometimes its easier just to pay if you are able, but theres know way for my daughter we would have been able to afford all her bills, her insurance is just shy of 1m covered so it is very useful and i am thankfor for it and what they did cover

Jesus Christ what kind of insurance won't cover a major surgery like a collectomy?!

[GrayStangGT]

I work for my parents small business and have to get my own insurance. Really what your paying doesn't sound too bad, I've got BCBS with 1500 deductible and 20% copay if I remember correctly and it is $215 a month for just me. I'm 26, nonsmoker and fairly healthy. I know when I was younger my Dad was paying over $900 a month for BCBS with him, my mom, me and my sister on there.

[junior]

Only reason I still have a secular job.

Oh and retirement.

[mustangguy289]

i definately agree here, my daughter has had 10 major surguries since age 16, shes now 20 (21 in april) so our insurance with bcbs has been used up for the most part, now there are alot of medical that hasnt been covered by insurance, just because thats how it goes (or how they make it go), so on my surgery (collectomy) i just negotiated a cash payment up from w/o insurance for 50k for everything, using insurance it was 120k , so who knows what they would actually cover anyway , sometimes its easier just to pay if you are able, but theres know way for my daughter we would have been able to afford all her bills, her insurance is just shy of 1m covered so it is very useful and i am thankfor for it and what they did cover

Are you saying it would have cost YOU $120k out of pocket for the surgery or that's what they bill the insurance?

They always bill the insurance higher and the insurance jews them down. If the insurance refuses to pay you can than settle for the non-insurance price after the insurance denies.

You can also call your insurance before hand and verify if it is covered or have the doctor/hospital verify for you. Settling at 50k before doing any of this when having insurance was not a smart move.

[GrayStangGT]

They always bill the insurance higher and the insurance jews them down. If the insurance refuses to pay you can than settle for the non-insurance price after the insurance denies.

I'm not sure that is always the case. Last year I had a same day surgery and to keep a long story short my insurance denied the claim due to some bs. Hospital sends me a bill for 11k, I go up to the hospital and tell them I will pay 6k right now or $25 a month until the balance is paid. They chose the 6k, in the meantime I continued to fight with BCBS and finally won. BCBS pays the hospital and their negotiated price with the hospital was only $4500 instead of the 11k bill they tried to stick me with. Instead of being out 6k I got all but my deductible and copay back. So in my case the "insurance price" was much lower than the "noninsurance price."

[mustangguy289]

I'm not sure that is always the case. Last year I had a same day surgery and to keep a long story short my insurance denied the claim due to some bs. Hospital sends me a bill for 11k, I go up to the hospital and tell them I will pay 6k right now or $25 a month until the balance is paid. They chose the 6k, in the meantime I continued to fight with BCBS and finally won. BCBS pays the hospital and their negotiated price with the hospital was only $4500 instead of the 11k bill they tried to stick me with. Instead of being out 6k I got all but my deductible and copay back. So in my case the "insurance price" was much lower than the "noninsurance price."

The 11k was the "insurance" price before the insurance settled with them. This is exactly what I meant.

You might have only had to pay 4500 had you made that offer. Healthcare billing messed up.

[GrayStangGT]

The 11k was the "insurance" price before the insurance settled with them. This is exactly what I meant.

You might have only had to pay 4500 had you made that offer. Healthcare billing messed up.

I do know if I ever have to pay a hospital out of pocket again my negotiation will start at less than 40% of what the bill is.