Health Insurance Costs For Self Employed (Sarasota: purchase, school, deductible)

[JViello]

Hi folks. Being that there are different insurance products available in different states I'd like to know what any self employed people are paying there for health insurance. I'm assuming there are more options as the state I'm in now is a bit draconian with legislation.

Here in CT it's about $1200 a month for a family plan with deductables under $1000.

Also, what do you find are general costs for a routine doctor visit for a child's cough for example if paid out of pocket/cash. Here, it doesn't matter so you might as well just pay the insurance costs.

[Skunk Workz]

Originally Posted by JViello

Hi folks. Being that there are different insurance products available in different states I'd like to know what any self employed people are paying there for health insurance. I'm assuming there are more options as the state I'm in now is a bit draconian with legislation.

Here in CT it's about $1200 a month for a family plan with deductables under $1000.

Also, what do you find are general costs for a routine doctor visit for a child's cough for example if paid out of pocket/cash. Here, it doesn't matter so you might as well just pay the insurance costs.

It's been a few years since I got a quote (from Aetna if I remember correctly), but that's probably pretty close. I think we could have saved a few hundred with BCBS, but the coverage wasn't nearly as good.

Routine sick kid trips are usually less than $100.

As far as self pay vs insured, we always get some kind of break for being self pay. My son had to have his arm set by an orthopedic surgeon about 3 years ago, and as soon as he realized we were self pay (with cash in hand), he knocked $1100 off the bill.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by Skunk Workz

It's been a few years since I got a quote (from Aetna if I remember correctly), but that's probably pretty close. I think we could have saved a few hundred with BCBS, but the coverage wasn't nearly as good.

Routine sick kid trips are usually less than $100.

As far as self pay vs insured, we always get some kind of break for being self pay. My son had to have his arm set by an orthopedic surgeon about 3 years ago, and as soon as he realized we were self pay (with cash in hand), he knocked $1100 off the bill.

Thanks for the information. I was wondering if there were some aggregation plans in FL where pools of business owners get together to purchase plans at a much discounted rates. They are "outlawed" in CT therefore we do not have that option.

If Dr's there are willing to do "cash" deals that is great and will allow me to put a higher deductible and significantly lower the rate. I'd rather save $6000 a year on a premium and only pay out of pocket a couple thousand for regular visits etc. I'd rather the insurance be for catastrophic incidents that might come up.

[PixiStix]

We were paying an arm & a leg for BCBS private insurance & we are never sick! Outside of a dentist cleaning, school check up & maybe an occasional clinic visit for an ear ache, etc.. Even then, they paid so poorly, we were out of pocket more than we should have been.

We switched to using a Health Savings acct. It's cheaper for us to pay out of that than pay the crazy premiums for coverage we rarely used.

It's a high deductible & you pay out of a tax free account you create for routine, normal medical costs. It's still all done through an insurance company. You get an insurance card & a checkbook linked to your health savings acct. to pay for medical visits, etc. However, the insurance kicks in for major medical costs over 50K & pays 100% I believe. All the plans are different according to your needs though.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by PixiStix

We were paying an arm & a leg for BCBS private insurance & we are never sick! Outside of a dentist cleaning, school check up & maybe an occasional clinic visit for an ear ache, etc.. Even then, they paid so poorly, we were out of pocket more than we should have been.

We switched to using a Health Savings acct. It's cheaper for us to pay out of that than pay the crazy premiums for coverage we rarely used.

It's a high deductible & you pay out of a tax free account you create for routine, normal medical costs. It's still all done through an insurance company. You get an insurance card & a checkbook linked to your health savings acct. to pay for medical visits, etc. However, the insurance kicks in for major medical costs over 50K & pays 100% I believe. All the plans are different according to your needs though.

Bingo! That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. Nothing like that here.

Thank you for the information!

Do you have a link to your specific plan by any chance?

[PixiStix]

Originally Posted by JViello

Bingo! That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. Nothing like that here.

Thank you for the information!

Do you have a link to your specific plan by any chance?

Our plan is through United Healthcare however many insurance companies offer them..

Here is a good link for starters-

Health Savings Account (HSA) - What Is It? - SelectAccount

[SoFLGal]

I have United Healthcare through my husbands job. My little one was up in the peds unit at Sarasota for nearly a week and our co-pay was minimal compared to the bill.

It seems lots of doctors take United. I've been pleased.

[Old Man Winter]

Its impossible to throw a figure out because if there are health issues it changes everything. A healthy family of 4 with a 5k deductible your probably going to pay around 400-500 a month, the coverage isnt that good but it is for catastrophic coverage.

[joerankinn]

Hi, Just a thought.
I am self employed and getting an insurance is just fine since it will benefit my family in 'cases' in life as such. But how do I go around it? What would likely be the best one to get. There are just too many and their offers and promises sound so overwhelming.

[photoman_6]

you need to do some concrete research on your own based on your own needs. there are too many choices. I'd research both the united healthcare and humana websites to begin with. im sure there are many others that offer different plans.