What's the health care like in Oregon (Portland, Eugene: health insurance, employment)

[rosepetal720]

We currently live in Mississippi. My husband is a mechanical engineer, and his work gives him free health insurance but does not offer it to our family. It's making us broke! My husband is convinced this is normal around the country, but people I've talked to in Oregon say almost every business offers Kaiser to the entire family.

From your experience, what can we expect from a position in Oregon?

[Nell Plotts]

Almost all employers offer health insurance to their employee with an option for family coverage for which the employee contributes. The choices typically include Kaiser and various preferred provider plans. Be aware that a Providence preferred provider plan reflects Roman Catholic values. Some employers also offer health care savings plans. Typically the larger the employer the better the benefits package.

Historically Kaiser preferred family coverage because it sees health care as a family priority. I am not sure how current policies offered employers are structured.

The best time to find a good job is when you are employed so I recommend your husband start his job search now to find the best combination of pay and benefits.

Keep in mind the fact that the Pacific NW has a different culture than Missippi, closer to that of Scandinavia. Many are not churched or are Christians/Jews who attend services only on Holy Days.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by rosepetal720

We currently live in Mississippi. My husband is a mechanical engineer, and his work gives him free health insurance but does not offer it to our family. It's making us broke! My husband is convinced this is normal around the country, but people I've talked to in Oregon say almost every business offers Kaiser to the entire family.

From your experience, what can we expect from a position in Oregon?

It is more and more common for businesses to only offer subsidized insurance (not usually free but the company picks up some of the cost) to the direct employee and then offer insurance to that employee's dependents at full price.

Also, you are saying "Oregon" but you have posted this in the Portland forum - keep in mind that the Portland area has the most options for insurance and medical care and as you move away from Oregon's largest city your choices for insurance and care start to drop sharply and the costs climb. The 2 ACA providers available in my small town (300 miles south of Portland) offer plans that are 30-50% more than comparable plans in the Portland metro area (where there are 7 providers).

Since you mentioned Kaiser, the main Kaiser facilities are, I believe, in the Portland area and Salem with a small office in Eugene.

[Nell Plotts]

Kaiser has two hospitals in Portland, one in Hillsboro and another in the Sunnyside neighborhood (far SE), they have clinics all over the area. When my kids were young they were fantastic, their urgent care hours meet the need of a working mother. Now my husband loves their Medicare Advantage program. The only reason why I am not a subscriber at the moment is that I wanted to use a specific physician at OHSU for surgery. Keep in mind the fact that Kaiser is science based care, if you want cosmetic surgery just to improve your silhouette that will be a hard sell.

Kaiser also offers dental but you must sign up for that when you first select their health care to prevent adverse selection. They took care of my kid's wisdom teeth removal when they were in college. Kaiser operated dental clinics are ONLY available in Portland metro.

[CaliforniaPlaya]

That is definitely not 'normal', but it varies greatly by employer. Employers are not required to provide medical insurance or other benefits to their employees unless a union contract, law or something else requires them to do so, but many do to gain and retain the employees they need as part of a total benefit package. It is correct that usually larger employers offer more and better benefit packages, but not always. Best of luck with your move.

[StealthRabbit]

* suggestion...

Have DH get an engineering job with Army Corp or Bonneville Power Authority (Federal benefits)

Plenty of engineering jobs in PNW, and likely much higher pay than MS. (At a cost... housing)

I would FIRST look 7 min north of Portland (WA state is Income tax free + decent HC options for the unemployed)

[Nell Plotts]

I agree that if he can find a position with Bonneville Power Administration that would be fantastic. Their headquarters are in Vancouver. WA. That said Federal employment isn't what it used to be, I know as I am a retired Fed.

[texasdiver]

Mississippi has an uninsured rate that is more than double that of Oregon. Largely because the government in Oregon has choosen to work towards reducing the numbers of uninsured while Mississippi has deliberately gone in the other direction and sought to undermine health coverage. These political decisions have consequences. So yes, you are more likely to find employment that provides insurance in Oregon compared to Mississippi.

[rosepetal720]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

Almost all employers offer health insurance to their employee with an option for family coverage for which the employee contributes.

Technically, my husband's work has that option, but it's $700 per family each month. We can't afford that! Is $700 somewhere in the realm of what you mean? It sounds unbearably high to me.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by rosepetal720

Technically, my husband's work has that option, but it's $700 per family each month. We can't afford that! Is $700 somewhere in the realm of what you mean? It sounds unbearably high to me.

$700 per month for a family is cheap. People who have to buy their own insurance are paying $1500 ( for high deductible) and up to $2500 and even more. You are being offered a healthy subsidy.