journey11
Garden Master
We have employer-provided insurance, so mine really wouldn't compare to yours as self-insured.
I worked for both Tricare and Blue Cross/Blue Shield in the past. Boy, have things drastically changed since then. My insurance would protect me from a catastrophe, but could easily set me back financially for a couple of years just for going for a series of regular diagnostic tests and maintenance of existing health issues, etc.
Doctors have to be so thorough in order to avoid malpractice, so they usually order lots of unnecessary tests. Unfortunately you can't know which ones are unnecessary until after the fact. A complete blood panel alone usually bills for over $900. That is a very basic diagnostic.
With the insurance I have right now we have to pay $2,300 out of pocket annually per individual or $8,000 per family before traditional insurance even begins to kick in! We had better Insurance last year, but my husband's company is struggling and they downsized their insurance plan to a high deductible consumer-driven plan. They do offer us a pre-tax health savings account in which we can put away up to $6,800 per year. Having just started this plan though, there's not much in there currently. The hope is that we can go healthy for at least a couple of years and build up a nest-egg to protect us. I have been having more severe and chronic asthma attacks here lately, but do not feel like I can get to the doctor to take care of it without really hurting us financially. So I guess I'll have to wait until I either turn blue or my inhaler Rx runs out. It is not controlling it very well anymore.
We postponed Savannah's next heart check-up until next January so that we would not touch the health savings account this year. Her check up with the specialist always runs over $4,000. With our old insurance last year we were only responsible for about $350 of that. Now we will have that $2,300 out of pocket to look forward to every year. For a young family, that really puts the hurt on your hopes of getting ahead in this world. The American dream is definitely dead. Tighten the belt. I am paying for insurance that I cannot afford to use.
At least the $6,800 pre-tax savings account puts me down a tax bracket...
Savannah's heart defect at birth billed for over $200,000. With our old insurance we only had to pay for about $3,000 of that. And they will take small payments until you get it paid off.
My dad has very good insurance thankfully. I am hearing that more and more companies are going to consumer-driven plans like ours to cut costs. I have to get him signed up with COBRA now that FMLA has run out, but if his company decides to change group plans he will lose that insurance. He cannot get Medicare until two years after his date of disability. He will be lucky to still be alive by then. Social Security Administration...bleepin' gov't. Don't even get me started.
You might want to look into a Medi-share type plan. You pay a regular monthly premium, but costs are covered/shared across the board by members contributions. I need to look into it further and see if that is an option for us or not.
I worked for both Tricare and Blue Cross/Blue Shield in the past. Boy, have things drastically changed since then. My insurance would protect me from a catastrophe, but could easily set me back financially for a couple of years just for going for a series of regular diagnostic tests and maintenance of existing health issues, etc.
Doctors have to be so thorough in order to avoid malpractice, so they usually order lots of unnecessary tests. Unfortunately you can't know which ones are unnecessary until after the fact. A complete blood panel alone usually bills for over $900. That is a very basic diagnostic.
With the insurance I have right now we have to pay $2,300 out of pocket annually per individual or $8,000 per family before traditional insurance even begins to kick in! We had better Insurance last year, but my husband's company is struggling and they downsized their insurance plan to a high deductible consumer-driven plan. They do offer us a pre-tax health savings account in which we can put away up to $6,800 per year. Having just started this plan though, there's not much in there currently. The hope is that we can go healthy for at least a couple of years and build up a nest-egg to protect us. I have been having more severe and chronic asthma attacks here lately, but do not feel like I can get to the doctor to take care of it without really hurting us financially. So I guess I'll have to wait until I either turn blue or my inhaler Rx runs out. It is not controlling it very well anymore.
We postponed Savannah's next heart check-up until next January so that we would not touch the health savings account this year. Her check up with the specialist always runs over $4,000. With our old insurance last year we were only responsible for about $350 of that. Now we will have that $2,300 out of pocket to look forward to every year. For a young family, that really puts the hurt on your hopes of getting ahead in this world. The American dream is definitely dead. Tighten the belt. I am paying for insurance that I cannot afford to use.
At least the $6,800 pre-tax savings account puts me down a tax bracket...
Savannah's heart defect at birth billed for over $200,000. With our old insurance we only had to pay for about $3,000 of that. And they will take small payments until you get it paid off.
My dad has very good insurance thankfully. I am hearing that more and more companies are going to consumer-driven plans like ours to cut costs. I have to get him signed up with COBRA now that FMLA has run out, but if his company decides to change group plans he will lose that insurance. He cannot get Medicare until two years after his date of disability. He will be lucky to still be alive by then. Social Security Administration...bleepin' gov't. Don't even get me started.
You might want to look into a Medi-share type plan. You pay a regular monthly premium, but costs are covered/shared across the board by members contributions. I need to look into it further and see if that is an option for us or not.