Do you have health insurance?

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Porkchop

Mr. Poopybutthole
<Bronze Donator>
1,212
1,006
Do you pay for health insurance at work?

I just found out i'm eligible for health/dental/vision insurance, but I'm hesitant to spend the $200 a month or so to get it.
 
463
0
How many people would you be covering with $200/month? Do you have a large family?
Having dental work done can be really fucking expensive without insurance.
 

OneofOne

Silver Baronet of the Realm
6,548
7,897
I have insurance through my wife's job. It cost $50/month to add me and it's really good insurance. I can't even imagine what it would cost my job to cover me as well - but there's no way in hell it would be $50.
 

Porkchop

Mr. Poopybutthole
<Bronze Donator>
1,212
1,006
How many people would you be covering with $200/month? Do you have a large family?
Having dental work done can be really fucking expensive without insurance.
Just one, me. I haven't been to a dentist in probably 5 years, rarely get sick and have no medical conditions.
 

Sterling

El Presidente
12,936
7,832
Here's the thing. 200 a month is obviously not nothing, but what happens if you're hospitalized and end up owing 150k? Bankruptcy?
 
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Cutlery

Kill All the White People
<Gold Donor>
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Here's the thing. 200 a month is obviously not nothing, but what happens if you're hospitalized and end up owing 150k? Bankruptcy?
When you're young, you can get away with taking the risk. You're not gonna recoup $2400 a year in insurance premiums when you're 18-30 probably. If you've got your appendix out already, I'd say that's a very safe bet. ER still has to treat you regardless, so if anything serious happens, you're gonna get patched up.

Now, when the health care law takes effect? I dunno, I dunno what the penalty for not having health insurance is and how it shakes down per tax bracket. Probably not worth it at that point. And if you get married or have a kid or something, obviously get the insurance right away because it becomes worth it at that point.
 

opiate82

Bronze Squire
3,078
5
Do you pay for health insurance at work?

I just found out i'm eligible for health/dental/vision insurance, but I'm hesitant to spend the $200 a month or so to get it.
For just me it's about $300 a month (starting in '13, up from '12). I pay 25% of the cost out of my pocket, the other 75% comes from my business account.

I am very healthy, I haven't even been sick enough to take a day off in years. I do however participate in some injury-risk activities such as skiing and mountain biking, so it is worth it to me to avoid a huge bill related to an injury. My wife had to have a DNC after a miscarriage last year and insurance ended up covering like $12k worth of bills related to that for what was basically an out-patient procedure.

I think it is totally worth it even if you don't foresee immediately needing it. Also don't forget starting next year the government is going to fine/tax/whatever you for not having insurance. Also in 2014 you may be able to find cheaper insurance through a state-run health insurance exchange.
 

Blide_sl

shitlord
188
1
I used a PPO plan for ~$135 a month before I got my current health insurance through work. The PPO Plan was pretty cool. They'd give me 500 dollars every year to cover expenses like deductibles, co-pays, and prescriptions. Then if I didn't use it, it'd roll over to the next year. Beyond that though, it was just a catastrophe plan where there's a huge deductible if something bad happens. All in all, I thought it was a pretty good plan for a young person.
 
463
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$200 for a single person seems pretty rough to me. I can't really contribute, as I live in Canada and my health care is covered by the province. I know that Vision/Dental coverage under my last union job was $50/month for my family of three, though.
Does the mandate for health insurance in the states force you to take whatever is offered, or can you get cheaper health insurance?
 

Blide_sl

shitlord
188
1
Does the mandate for health insurance in the states force you to take whatever is offered, or can you get cheaper health insurance?
You can have any insurance plan you want. Just most people go with employer provided ones because they subsidize the cost. It's certainly possible, especially for young people, to find cheaper plans though.
 

AladainAF

Best Rabbit
<Gold Donor>
12,846
30,787
I cover my wife and my son on about $30 a month for amazing dental (90% coverage of everything 100% on normal cleaning/xrays, $2,500 yearly benefit), and about $160 a month for medical that covers 100% of everything until $7,500, at which time I have a 10% co-pay until $25,000, and then after $25,000, I don't pay anything.
 

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
<Silver Donator>
14,366
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If you are young and healthy and paying for your own insurance then go for a big ass deductible. As much as you can afford without it being a financial disaster for you. I currently have a $3000 deductible and it costs me around $279 a month. When I worked in a corporation my insurance was paid for the company to the tune of $550 a month. I paid basically nothing except for a $15 co-pay. In 10 years I paid in $66,000 and got out about 6 office visits to my doctor and one outpatient arthroscopic surgery. It certainly would have been a better deal for me to get a cheaper plan with a higher deductible. It's irresponsible to go with no insurance at all, but "Cadillac" plans where you pay nothing but your premiums is not a good value for a young person.
 

Joeboo

Molten Core Raider
8,157
140
Agree with Brutul. If you are under the age of 30(and probably even 40) go with a high deductible. Sit down and decide how much you would be able to pay off over time without having to declare bankruptcy if something catastrophic happened. Is that $5000, is that $10,000? Most hospitals will work with you when you owe them a few grand and you can make payments on it, they often won't require it in a lump sum(or will offer you a discount if you can pay it in a lump sum), but Don't skimp out on paying $100-$200 a month, when that could keep you from going bankrupt.

Crazy shit happens. My girlfriend in college got ovarian cancer at the age of 23 and died, her parents were farmers and had no health insurance. Almost half a million dollars in medical bills. Her parents had to sell their farm, move into town, and her dad sells used RVs now. Fucking sad. If nothing else, keep your insurance going for your family and the people that love you, you may not care what happens to you if you end up in a coma or dead, but I guarantee your loved ones are going to want to see you get the best care possible, and they are going to try to pay for it if you don't, and it can ruin them.
 

Heriotze

<Gold Donor>
1,031
1,410
I just got my benefits package for my new job last week. Company covers all costs but dental which is $17/month and repays $2500 of my medical deductible a year. Kind of insane when I finally found out about it. Time to stop living healthy and put this stuff to good use.
 

Falstaff

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
8,311
3,165
Our premiums are going up for like the third time in five years... for my wife and I next year it will be almost $400 a month.

Going with an HMO this year since all of our Doctors are part of the plan/network and it's honestly the best coverage of all my choices. Did the high deductible option before I was married and it really was the best choice. I think I went to the doctor twice in three years plus I still have all the money I put into my HSA.

I pay $20 a month for dental for my wife and I and I've never gotten a bill except for two cavities my wife had filled this year, so that is a pretty good deal.
 

Selix

Lord Nagafen Raider
2,149
4
Hmm I need to look into private plans. A private plan for me and my family through Cobra (wife and 2 daughters under 3/yr old and me) was over $2,000 a month.
 

Tarrant

<Prior Amod>
15,516
8,969
I have 5 people (including myself)on my health insurance plan at work, it's through Health Partners.

I pay $92 a month with zero deductible.

This includes dental and vision which they provide for free.
 

Kedwyn

Silver Squire
3,915
80
You'll need health insurance soon enough regardless because of the new laws. You could get a catastrophic HSA compatible policy with a high deductible and get some tax benefits on the money you put in the HSA on top of it.

Regardless of your health you are nuts if you don't carry any health insurance. Plenty of uninsured drivers and you could always break a leg or something stupid happen.
 

mkopec

<Gold Donor>
25,350
37,374
I pay $50 per month with a $2,500 deductible. All preventative care is free and this year they added a clinic by my work, general practitioner, that will treat anyone at my office for free. Dental is 100% for all preventative and 50% for major work up to $2,500 per year. We also get eye care as well, one vision test per year and some generic glasses or contacts.

Before I hired direct with this company about 6 yrs ago I used to pay $800 per month for me and my family. Basically I was purchasing my own insurance. But I also was getting paid more. But with kids and a wife I cannot just risk not having it.