health insurance

[zim]

do any of yous united states guys pay for health insurance? this is my first time looking into it.

my job gives me $300 a month to pay for health insurance but i've just been pocketing it for the last year. i hate to lose that money but i already went through getting sued and having my wages garnished for not being able to pay medical bills

anyone have any advice on this crap?

[jawn galliano]

i don't know what my total premium cost is but i think i pay $45 a week out of my paycheck for my coverage. which i've used a grand total of zero times over the nearly 6 years of having it

good luck if you have to actually purchase your own plan, having to actually navigate individual plans is a fucking nightmare that i do not wish on anyone

[droidspawn]

I’m on cobra and I pay $412/month and just got a notice for 2020 it’s going up to $439 for no reason other than to pad the cocksucking ceos pockets.

We need Medicare for all.

[vO)))id]

These prices are horrendous.

[Paste Human]

I just glanced at a pay stub and I pay $2.54 per week for the premium. Then the deductible is something like $1400, followed by 70/30 copay up to the annual max out of pocket, which is something like $4200. After that the plan pays for everything. There's also a health reimbursement account that they put a few hundred dollars into each year along with opportunities to get more money deposited for doing stuff like taking a survey about health related issues.

The plan isn't fantastic or anything, but almost nothing comes out of my paycheck to have it so I can't complain. For a couple years in my early 20s I was paying over $100 per month for what amounted to catastrophic health insurance to avoid financial ruin if something really serious happened.

[Mesarthim]

$216/mo for the wife and I covers Health / Dental / Vision.
it's a low per month cost but it has a higher deductible. typically covers 80/20 though once the deductible is met it covers it 100% work also provides us with an HRA that they put in $1800 per year and since we rarely go to the doctor and the funds roll over we actually have a decent amount in there, luckily haven't had any catastrophic health issues over the years.

[jawn galliano]

doesn't the 80/20 copay only apply after you've met the deductible? then there's usually a separate OOP limit that the copays are credited toward, after which the copay no longer applies and the policy fully covers the cost, excepting any claims the company decides to reject

anyway health insurance is a dumb fucking scam

[zim]

my cheapest option is about $290 a month and the deductible is around $8000

so if i'm understanding this right, i pay up to $8000 before they even help me pay off anything

[droidspawn]

Welcome to for-profit health insurance and bloodsucking greed

[User]

what a bunch of bullshit

[zim]

honestly i can't decide if i should do it or not.. i know it's best to have it in case of an emergency but also it's another ~300 on top of all my other monthly bills

[Paste Human]

Can you put the money they give you in an untaxed health savings account that rolls over? Because that would add up quickly, and if you pay out of pocket you're going to get a giant discount. On the other hand, did the mandate to either have health insurance or pay a fine go away? I remember there being something about that when I did my taxes but it didn't seem like there was going to be any kind of followup on it.

[zim]

Can you put the money they give you in an untaxed health savings account that rolls over?

don't know anything about that. i get an extra $300 a month that is 'supposed' to be used for insurance but we can choose to pocket it if we want. i was only looking at health insurance plans through healthcare.gov

On the other hand, did the mandate to either have health insurance or pay a fine go away? I remember there being something about that when I did my taxes but it didn't seem like there was going to be any kind of followup on it.

I actually ended up paying the fine on my taxes for not having health insurance last year. I didn't know the sign up date was only a month long and sarded a little too long. I think it's going away though so no more penalty in the future

[vO)))id]

How are Americans still alive? Wtf man...

[happiness and harmony]

we pay a lot of money per month for health insurance

recently we looked into taking me off the family plan and having me look for a cheap individual plan when the markets opened, but bizarrely that would have wound up costing even more

nothing about this makes sense, but at least the vast network of health insurance administrators and bureaucrats can earn a living

[droidspawn]

I’m looking into the marketplace as well. Sucks we only have a month to get it all sorted out

Again, if we had Medicare for all. NONE this would be an issue for anyone. Everyone just has coverage and won’t be billed a damn penny

[Methuselah Honeysuckle]

My open enrollment is coming up. This should be interesting.

[jawn galliano]

You can’t contribute to an HSA unless you have a qualifying HDHP. Accordingly you can’t use one if you’re uninsured. Or I guess you can but the IRS will not be very happy with you

[Ninny]

These prices are horrendous.

I pay about €45,- a month. I had to return €300,- ´zorgtoeslag´ over last year because my income is a little higher now. Kind of disappointing but €80,- a month isn't bad compared to US numbers. I do remember the days when I paid ƒ25,- a month...

[Paste Human]

Back in July I had an ingrown toenail - nothing serious but really painful - that had to get removed. They accidentally billed me for out of pocket at $150 and quickly told me to disregard it. When I saw the bill that went through insurance it was $350, which was negotiated down to about $180. That pissed me off. A few weeks later I had a potentially serious medical event so it was nice having had that count toward the deductible, but still...

[vO)))id]

These prices are horrendous.

I pay about €45,- a month. I had to return €300,- ´zorgtoeslag´ over last year because my income is a little higher now. Kind of disappointing but €80,- a month isn't bad compared to US numbers. I do remember the days when I paid ƒ25,- a month...

I’m also paying back that shit monthly because of the same reason.

[jawn galliano]

Back in July I had an ingrown toenail - nothing serious but really painful - that had to get removed. They accidentally billed me for out of pocket at $150 and quickly told me to disregard it. When I saw the bill that went through insurance it was $350, which was negotiated down to about $180. That pissed me off. A few weeks later I had a potentially serious medical event so it was nice having had that count toward the deductible, but still...

that was no accident fellating lover, it's a business model. in your particular case it wasn't necessarily ruinous, but you're one of the lucky ones. the practice of surprise billing is a deliberate strategy increasingly deployed by the PE vultures & monopolists that have taken over hospital groups across the country, and the doctors are all complicit because they agree to receiving payoffs for acceding to it.

[Paste Human]

I completely understand what you're saying, and this phenomenon makes my blood boil.

However in this case the podiatrist office I was lucky enough to visit consisted of a two person operation and I know they meant no harm by it. We talked about it during the followup appointment (which I wasn't charged anything for) and she explained that's basically the only way to deal with insurance companies and ultimately get the price to roughly what she would have charged in the first place. We both agreed it's a giant waste of time. Basically expensive make-work for medical bureaucrats.

Since I was leaving town shortly after that she also gave me her personal phone number in case an infection broke out so she could prescribe an antibiotic without me having to see another doctor with the idea being I'd save time and money. So at the end of the day there are at least still good doctors around.