Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have to say we feel lucky with our insurance, and yes we pay monthly for a family plan, but it is subsidized by my husband's company. Our youngest had surgery that was 8500, we only ended up paying about 500, which seemed like a bargain to me.
My dad was one of those cancer people, he had a bone marrow transplant that he did not survive, his hospital bill (he was in the hospital from july until november) was close to 300k, we paid 10k. So, yes, we can complain, yes there are definitely some issues that can be handled better, but his insurance saved us.
Alice 61, beleive it or not no surgery for that price, just set it and they kept her overnight in the pediatric ward to monitor her. That bill was what the hospitol sent us. When the bill was sent to the insurance company they agreed to 1/2 that, with the hospitol writing off the rest.
I guess that's a big reason to get insurance: to get the lower charges that the insurance companies get. It used to burn me (still does) that I would have to pay immediately the full charge when I didn't have insurance (for example, at the dentist) and yet the same providers would take a serious discount from insurance companies and it required extra billing on their part. It hardly seems fair. To keep our insurance premiums (almost) affordable we have a ridiculously high deductable just to save our butts if something really big goes wrong and to get the discounts. Mainly we expect to have to pay for everything and try like heck to avoid getting sick or hurt.
By the way, insurance is much cheaper in NC than PA. For instance the lowest premium for individual Blue Cross for our family of three is ~$200 less per month here in ($330) NC than in PA (~$530). I have heard that it is because malpractice insurance is so much higher there due to limits on jury settlements on malpractice cases.
I have a great insurance agent that can get you the best rate imo. I am single and pay $153 a month which I think is great. I'm not sure about with a family. I always had that through IBM when my children were younger.
I have a quick question for you guys. For a family how much do your jobs have you pay every pay period. My insurance plan with blue cross is 245 per month for a family. I think this is very expensive. What else can I do or get for my family?
Wow. The numbers are across the board. Sadly, when people say that your number is cheap, they may be right. But really, it's still expensive. We've just grown accustomed to it. The fact is, the rate you pay is only a portion of what the plan actually costs. So, when it comes to insurance, the price of each plan is way too expensive for most, imo. Imagine not having company sponsored insurance.
Me, I pay about $160 a month on an individual plan. But it's still based out of state, but I can use it here since I still have a presence in CA. I think the same policy would cost nearly a hundred bucks more here in NC.
$245 doesn't sound bad, considering the quotes I've read and how much others, I know, are paying for a family plan. Of course, deductibles and coverages probably vary greatly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by njmi
My father-in-law in his 60's also has to get individual coverage with BCBS, but has had some medical history...his premium is over $1900/month!
Eh. So sad. And with age comes history. At $1900/month, I know my parents would never be able to afford that what with their SSpayments. Shame that a lot of elderly or older people are being hurt by all this. Yup, I saw Sicko too and, apart from the party politics, I'm on board with a great deal of what was outlined in the film.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DebbieF
I have a great insurance agent that can get you the best rate imo. I am single and pay $153 a month which I think is great. I'm not sure about with a family. I always had that through IBM when my children were younger.
Is yours company sponsored or do you buy directly? And I wouldn't mind if you sent me the name of your agent, either. I'd like to see what they could do for me.
And that's the advice I would give anyone. Every year, carve out some time to get re-quoted for rates on all you policies, not just health insurance. Unless you get some hefty loyalty discount, which really isn't much, it's not a bad idea to consistently compare. I've saved hundreds on insurance premiums simply because I shop regularly. Though I haven't done it for this year (been very busy), it's time since our homeowner's just went up as well. It's always goin' up. Eh.
I have a quick question for you guys. For a family how much do your jobs have you pay every pay period. My insurance plan with blue cross is 245 per month for a family. I think this is very expensive. What else can I do or get for my family?
We chose the high option.
About $225.00 a month for family coverage (BCBSNC) and another $40.00 a month for dental ( 2 cleanings/year @ 100%, $50.00/person deductable with 1500 per person max benefits).
Our BCBS group policy has a 1,000 per year family deductable then the plan pays 100% until the end of year. - but copays count toward the max per year.
The real stinger has been Rx coverage. Its still 10.00 month or 3 months $25.00 for generic - but everything else doubled in 2008 but name brand copays are now $45.00 a month for formulary (preferred) or $112.50 for 3 months.. nonformulary (nonpreferred) for $60.00 a month or $150.00 for 3 months.
We're really penalized if we don't use mail order after three refills - while we still have coverage - we have to pay double copay from that point on.. so we try to use mail order as much as possible..
Oh, we could have paid about $75.00 a month less for low option - but the deductable would have been $2500/family/year and our Rx benefits would have had a per person $100.00 deductable and higher copays in general.
Our doctors copays are all $25.00 - no referrels necessary.
About 10 years ago we had 5.00 copays... $5.00/10.00 Rx... low deductables.. and only $50.00 a month out of the paycheck. Those were the days..
A few years ago we did have a medical crisis - and we realized just how important medical insurance is....
I am deducted $20.85 bi-weekly from my paychecks. This included Health/Dental/Vision for myself only. This is the insurance through my company. I am very satisfied with our benefits!
BC/BS: $17.00
Delta Dental: $2.55
VSP: $1.30
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.