Self Employed- How much are youpaying for Health Insurance??

[TPendagast]

The deductibles for catastrophic plans are really high, generally around $10,000. Not a good plan for things like cancer, most people won't be able to afford the treatments they need out of pocket before that insurance kicks in.



I think it's a bad idea in principle. If they are serious about forcing people to quit smoking just ban the sale of tobacco. We shouldn't feel entitled to place undue burdens on a group of people just because we dislike their behavior when it's completely legal.

Thats not really how catastrophic insurance works...

IF you have no insurance and you get cancer, the hospital gets you comfortable to die.
IF you have insurance they'll blow by the 10k so fast on their way to hit that insurance pot of gold before you get your first bill.
IF youre going to survive the cancer, making a 10k payment plan is the least of your worries.

 

[zraffz]

What insurance do you have?
What do you pay for it?
or do you mean you pay out of pocket 34k a year for your insurance premium??

Horizon Blue Cross & Blue Shield Direct 10. I pay about $4,500/year for it because i have to contribute a small portion. That cost includes a life insurance policy 3x my base salary... I think it is around $180,000 right now that my wife and son would get (on top of my $20,000 I have invested out of pocket into my pension and IRA/401K).

And no... I have never had any premiums. I have $10 doctors co-pay, $40 hospital co-pay (free it admitted).

My prescription drug insurance is through another company, it changes every year. I don't recall what it is now, Express Scripts last year? I walk in for something like amoxicillin and pay maybe $0.50 for it. The most expensive prescription I have ever had cost me under $3.

My dental is still HBCBS under a different policy specifically for dental insurance. It is equally as good but I am limited to using one specific dentist that I select. I can't go to another dentist during the year.

 

[weeze]

I think it's a bad idea in principle. If they are serious about forcing people to quit smoking just ban the sale of tobacco. We shouldn't feel entitled to place undue burdens on a group of people just because we dislike their behavior when it's completely legal.

they will never get rid of it. they make too much money from it. heck weed is legal in several states now. if that's legal they aren't gonna make cigarettes illegal.

as long as they are making money they don't care about people's health or whether or not they die because of it. it's all about the money. if they were serious about health and actually cared they wouldn't allow the stuff to be sold. unfortunately with freedom comes a lot of bad things too. you are free to slowly kill yourself over time. there is no law against doing so.

 

[weeze]

The deductibles for catastrophic plans are really high, generally around $10,000. Not a good plan for things like cancer, most people won't be able to afford the treatments they need out of pocket before that insurance kicks in.

i seriously doubt it would be that high. if so i wouldn't even bother getting it. i would just do without insurance. no one knows what they are gonna do next with healthcare. they've never worked it out yet that's why we still have obamacare.

my deductible now is $100-$200. when obamacare first started it was $6000 and i had a bronze plan. i thought it was a total joke and so did everyone else. anything over $1000 is too much for a deductible. really anything over $500.

 

[That Guy Gary]

Thats not really how catastrophic insurance works...

IF you have no insurance and you get cancer, the hospital gets you comfortable to die.
IF you have insurance they'll blow by the 10k so fast on their way to hit that insurance pot of gold before you get your first bill.
IF youre going to survive the cancer, making a 10k payment plan is the least of your worries.

You are right, an insured patient who is diagnosed with cancer generally won't have a problem getting treated.

I don't think high deductible plans are terrible if someone goes about it intelligently, either. The problem is most people don't. The healthy person who chooses a high deductible plan because he'll save $500 a month and actually puts aside $500 a month in savings until they have enough to cover 100% of their OOP maximum is a smart person. Most people aren't smart.

Instead what is more common is people with high deductibles avoiding the initial medical care that is necessary to even diagnose their condition because they are broke and living paycheck to paycheck.

I also exaggerated the figure for deductibles on these plans. I've seen that number in the past but it was probably one of the trash plans I was offered when working in a restaurant, not something I saw when I worked for the ACA. No current ACA plan even has an OOP maximum that high for individuals, let alone the deductible.

 

[That Guy Gary]

i seriously doubt it would be that high. if so i wouldn't even bother getting it. i would just do without insurance. no one knows what they are gonna do next with healthcare. they've never worked it out yet that's why we still have obamacare.

my deductible now is $100-$200. when obamacare first started it was $6000 and i had a bronze plan. i thought it was a total joke and so did everyone else. anything over $1000 is too much for a deductible. really anything over $500.

You are right, took a good look at the figures just a moment ago, while you were typing this I think.

I was offered some really bad plans when I was younger when I was working in the restaurant industry, back in the 90s. I think I mixed up those figures with what is available under the ACA.

I agree with you on deductibles as well, but a healthy person can get by with a high deductible if they are smart about it like I stated in my previous post.

 

[weeze]

when obamacare first started families had $10k deductibles. everyone pitched a fit over it and now they are much cheaper. if they jack the prices up people will be forced to not have insurance at all because no one will be able to afford it. it will be like the old days and you'll have a doctor that goes around your town to treat people. either that or everyone will just get sick and die earlier.

 

[guitarman2420]

Medicare for me!!!

 

[Rockbridge Lawn Care LLC]

.....just kill me now......

 

[Charles]

Back in the 90s, before ACA, my insurance was $350 per month with a $5000 deductible. I priced shop a lot with the help of a broker. The South has the highest Insurance rates. Must have something to do with the Cracker barrels restaurants/ Then I went through a 10 year period of no insurance. I got it again when ACA started. Not long after that, I needed surgery. The premiums just kept going up. My net income was not all that great back then. Not all that great now