Let's Talk Health Insurance...

[rodriguezpoultry]

So I just realized recently that my dad's insurance is not going to cover me anymore.

I think he's paying too much for insurance for me, but I wanted to see what the good and bad's were with health insurance.

What are absolute necessities for health insurance? I do NOT intend on having children for quite awhile so it's not a huge ordeal with me.

Any help is appreciated and if you can think of any specific questions that I can ask the representative would be great.

I cannot afford much and have found some that are fairly affordable (around $80 per month), but am slightly wary...

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

If you can get it for $80/month - go for it! Through my company I pay $100/month for single/no dependents. If DBF and I got married, he would run an additional $200/pay or $400/month! It's insane.

 

[georgialee]

If you can be disciplined enough to deposit money every pay-period into an account I think a high deductible plan coupled with an HSA is the way to go.

Kind of confusing but the basics are that you have a plan that basically just covers anything major and instead of paying tons of money to a health insurance company you pay it to yourself in a health savings account (HSA). Your payment for the plan is much much much less (1/3 less than a 'normal' plan at least) and is tax deductible and so is any $ you put into the HSA. For example, through DH's work we were paying around $700 a month for health insurance. Since I changed to an HSA we pay $295 to an actual insurance company and then $75 every week to our HSA. Works out great for us.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

How do I know what I'm getting will be what I need though?

I guess that's the big issue...

I have zero dependents, my bf and I can't get married for another year or two.

I only go to the doctor when I'm sick, not a hypochondriac, so primary care doctor is not a huge ordeal for me. I just want to go somewhere when I get sick so I can get taken care of.

The whole ordeal with my brother opened my eyes to the immediate need for insurance.

 

[georgialee]

Well it really depends what you want. The biggest things to decide on are deductibles and co-pays. If you only want to pay $25 bucks when you go to the doctor for the doctors visit then get a co-pay BUT beware that the co-pay only covers the doctors office charge. It DOES NOT cover shots, x-rays, labs, etc. unless your insurance plan specifically states that. So most times you'll be saving around $50 for a 'normal' doctor. The deductible is really a personal choice. That's how much you have to pay out of pocket before the insurance picks it up and pays whatever percent you choose (usually they pay 80% and you pay 20%). Keep in mind that hospitals are required to take payments... which means if you're hospitalized you won't have to pay your whole bill right away regardless of whether you have a high deductible or not.

 

[Whispering Winds]

Check with Aflac too; they have the policies that pay you direct if you are in the emergency room, or hospital. It's a great back up for a medical plan that might not cover everything. They have cheap life insurance too.

 

[briesberrypatch]

People usually buy high deductible plans (with or without an HSA) because frankly, you can't afford a real insurance plan on your own. As an example, we have insurance through my husband's employer. The total monthly premium (our share and the employer's share) is $1,200/month. Who can afford to cover their family for $1,200/month?

When shopping for a plan, find out:
-how much is the monthly premium?
-what is your deductible?
-what are your copays, coinsurance, etc?
-what is the policy's lifetime limit? Pretty much all policies have a lifetime limit, the amount just varies from policy to policy. It is the maximum amount they will pay out for you for as long as you have a policy with them. You need a very, very high lifetime limit. Search online for some guidelines. $1 million is definitely not enough. I would argue that $5 million is not enough. I know someone who has a chronic condition that will probably eventually kill him. His monthly treatments are about $50,000. He has had this disease for over ten years. That means the "cost" is about $6 million so far. He is very lucky to be retired military and have government health care, because if he had a private insurance policy with, say, a $5 million lifetime limit, he would have exceeded that already and the insurance company would no longer pay for anything. People usually grossly underestimate the cost of treatment for serious illness/injuries. You are getting this policy in case of some devastating illness or accident that will be very expensive to treat - you need a very high lifetime limit so that you will be covered.
-what does the policy cover? Does it cover the things that are important to you?
-what hoops do you have to jump through if you need to see a doctor? If you need an ambulance?

That is what comes to me off the top of my head. I'm sure there are other questions that need to be asked, too.

HSAs can be good if you are rarely sick and you have enough income and discipline to contribute to them regularly. If something happens to you soon after you start the HSA, it is quite possible that you won't have enough saved up to pay the bills. If you lose your job, it is quite possible that you won't have enough income to contribute to the HSA, so you won't have enough in there to cover the bills when you do need medical care. HSAs can be a good tool, but you need to be aware of those pitfalls.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
First, figure out your needs. Emergency care is necessary for the what if's. Do you need Rx coverage, or do your Rx's fall o nthe $4 list at Target? Do you have health issues? Don;t answer me, just questions for thought. Get your ducks in a row and then go to ehealthinsurance.com. They have a TON of different plans and you can find one that fits your needs and budget.

 

[saddina]

Many family planning clinics can do your annual exams, female and other wise for very little out of pocket, on my old insurance it was less to go there then to cover the $50 office visit fee the insurance charged.

If you have no real health issues (I seem to think you're pretty young?), then you may want to do that and get a plan that covers big things, like broken legs and car accidents, then stay as healthy as possiable, exercize, eat right, those things.