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USnavy
Mar 19, 2011, 8:39 AM
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So I know this has been brought up before, but most of the current topics are too old and dont cover current health care events.
Anyway, I am going on a short climbing trip coming up and will need health insurance as I depart the Navy. I put in for a few quotes and am absolutely appalled as to the prices. BCBS Hawaii gave me a quote of $375 a month... what the f*ck is that about. Assurent gave me a quote of $100 a month but with a $5,000 deductible and an additional $3,500 of maximum out of pocket coinsurance expenses. I am not sure how they consider that to be insurance. I checked with Kaiser Permanente and got the same results as well. I find this to be pretty ludicrous considering I am young, in perfect health, perfect height and bodyweight standards, no preexisting conditions, no tobacco use, nothing that indicates I would be a liability. How the hell do college student and those laid off afford insurance if they are getting stiffed with quotes like this? Oh, and both the polices dont cover anything if you get hurt climbing. What a joy...
Anyway, so does anyone out there actually offer any affordable coverage that wont land me with $10k in deductibles and coinsurance payments?
(This post was edited by USnavy on Mar 19, 2011, 8:46 AM)
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shockabuku
Mar 19, 2011, 12:30 PM
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College students, who aren't still covered by their parents - as most are, get mediocre insurance at moderate prices because they buy as a group.
Aren't employers required to continue covering departing employees for some amount of time (for a fee) these days?
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Gmburns2000
Mar 19, 2011, 1:19 PM
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USnavy wrote: So I know this has been brought up before, but most of the current topics are too old and dont cover current health care events. Anyway, I am going on a short climbing trip coming up and will need health insurance as I depart the Navy. I put in for a few quotes and am absolutely appalled as to the prices. BCBS Hawaii gave me a quote of $375 a month... what the f*ck is that about. Assurent gave me a quote of $100 a month but with a $5,000 deductible and an additional $3,500 of maximum out of pocket coinsurance expenses. I am not sure how they consider that to be insurance. I checked with Kaiser Permanente and got the same results as well. I find this to be pretty ludicrous considering I am young, in perfect health, perfect height and bodyweight standards, no preexisting conditions, no tobacco use, nothing that indicates I would be a liability. How the hell do college student and those laid off afford insurance if they are getting stiffed with quotes like this? Oh, and both the polices dont cover anything if you get hurt climbing. What a joy... Anyway, so does anyone out there actually offer any affordable coverage that wont land me with $10k in deductibles and coinsurance payments?
move to Massachusetts (universal health care = A LOT cheaper than what you quoted).
Curious, there's no extension of health benefits when you leave the services (i.e. - something akin to COBRA)?
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USnavy
Mar 19, 2011, 5:10 PM
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Gmburns2000 wrote: USnavy wrote: So I know this has been brought up before, but most of the current topics are too old and dont cover current health care events. Anyway, I am going on a short climbing trip coming up and will need health insurance as I depart the Navy. I put in for a few quotes and am absolutely appalled as to the prices. BCBS Hawaii gave me a quote of $375 a month... what the f*ck is that about. Assurent gave me a quote of $100 a month but with a $5,000 deductible and an additional $3,500 of maximum out of pocket coinsurance expenses. I am not sure how they consider that to be insurance. I checked with Kaiser Permanente and got the same results as well. I find this to be pretty ludicrous considering I am young, in perfect health, perfect height and bodyweight standards, no preexisting conditions, no tobacco use, nothing that indicates I would be a liability. How the hell do college student and those laid off afford insurance if they are getting stiffed with quotes like this? Oh, and both the polices dont cover anything if you get hurt climbing. What a joy... Anyway, so does anyone out there actually offer any affordable coverage that wont land me with $10k in deductibles and coinsurance payments? move to Massachusetts (universal health care = A LOT cheaper than what you quoted). Curious, there's no extension of health benefits when you leave the services (i.e. - something akin to COBRA)?
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dugl33
Mar 19, 2011, 5:26 PM
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Welcome to the real world... sure you don't want to reenlist?
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carabiner96
Mar 19, 2011, 11:26 PM
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$100 a month is not bad at all for private, individual insurance. I work for an insurance company and I pay $80 a month, and that's with a workforce of many thousand employees.
When I was shopping for individual (same specs, super healthy, no conditions, etc) I was getting quotes of $200-$350 a month for decent coverage and a manageable deductible.
But really, a $5,000 deductible is better than paying the full $30,000 a broken leg would cost you. (http://www.costhelper.com/...alth/broken-leg.html)
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USnavy
Mar 20, 2011, 4:40 AM
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carabiner96 wrote: $100 a month is not bad at all for private, individual insurance. I work for an insurance company and I pay $80 a month, and that's with a workforce of many thousand employees.
(This post was edited by USnavy on Mar 20, 2011, 4:42 AM)
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Gmburns2000
Mar 20, 2011, 12:45 PM
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USnavy wrote: Gmburns2000 wrote: USnavy wrote: So I know this has been brought up before, but most of the current topics are too old and dont cover current health care events. Anyway, I am going on a short climbing trip coming up and will need health insurance as I depart the Navy. I put in for a few quotes and am absolutely appalled as to the prices. BCBS Hawaii gave me a quote of $375 a month... what the f*ck is that about. Assurent gave me a quote of $100 a month but with a $5,000 deductible and an additional $3,500 of maximum out of pocket coinsurance expenses. I am not sure how they consider that to be insurance. I checked with Kaiser Permanente and got the same results as well. I find this to be pretty ludicrous considering I am young, in perfect health, perfect height and bodyweight standards, no preexisting conditions, no tobacco use, nothing that indicates I would be a liability. How the hell do college student and those laid off afford insurance if they are getting stiffed with quotes like this? Oh, and both the polices dont cover anything if you get hurt climbing. What a joy... Anyway, so does anyone out there actually offer any affordable coverage that wont land me with $10k in deductibles and coinsurance payments? move to Massachusetts (universal health care = A LOT cheaper than what you quoted). Curious, there's no extension of health benefits when you leave the services (i.e. - something akin to COBRA)? COBRA for three months, VA medical treatment at any VA medical center for life, but the VA care is not insurance, its just free treatment if you go there. Also COBRA quoted me almost $100 a month as well.
Wow, I thought COBRA was an 18-month deal (at least it was for me). Either way, $100 is damn good.
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rtwilli4
Mar 20, 2011, 2:20 PM
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Sadly that's the current state of the healthcare in the US. $100 a month and a 5k deductable (plus drug costs, etc) is pretty standard as far as I know, and I have checked yearly for the last few years as I've been buying my own insurance since I turned 26.
I struggled with the decision every year, and I always decided to stay insured. The cost of getting my knee put back together or a broken bone mended is a little more than $5,000, and as much as I ask my body to do, I couldn't justify not having insurance.
If you've been gainfully employed for a few years then $8,500 isn't really that much money. I lived less than 100 miles from two Marines bases, one Air Force base and one Army base for 20 some years and I don't know anyone whose been in the military who doesn't have $8,500 in the bank. Even if you don't have that kind of cash laying around, it's still better to be faced with that kind of bill than with the TOTAL cost of you're care. That's not all that much money when you compare it to the cost of a major surgery or the cost of you getting cancer or something, God forbid.
That said, I still got fed up w/ the whole bullshit healthcare system (and other things) and decided to move to a country whose government puts it's own citizens higher on the prioity list than the US does. Now I get free healthcare that is equal to or better than the care I'd get in the States.
FWIW, if you plan to spend half the year outside of the US you can get good coverage through IMG for a lot less than $100 a month. They offer many plans, and they have done me well over the last few years. They also offer a separate policy for "extreme athletes."
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kobaz
Mar 20, 2011, 2:35 PM
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USnavy wrote: Also COBRA quoted me almost $100 a month as well.
Where did you get a COBRA quote for $100? When I quit my last last job they offered me COBRA. I had a great health plan with full coverage for everything with a $25 copay. My COBRA price to continue the plan was $600 a month.
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USnavy
Mar 20, 2011, 10:33 PM
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Those are dental plans.
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USnavy
Mar 20, 2011, 10:40 PM
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kobaz wrote: USnavy wrote: Also COBRA quoted me almost $100 a month as well. Where did you get a COBRA quote for $100? When I quit my last last job they offered me COBRA. I had a great health plan with full coverage for everything with a $25 copay. My COBRA price to continue the plan was $600 a month.
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notapplicable
Mar 20, 2011, 11:08 PM
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The reality is, the young and healthy are helping to pay for the breeders, old people and chronically ill. Thats just how it works.
I pay somewhere around $140-160 (never looked when it went up at the start of the year) with midlevel deductibles and OPM. Your quotes aren't that bad really. Just get the insurance, otherwise the rest of us taxpayers will have to pick up the tab when you show up at the hospital after a climbing/car/autofellatio accident. Don't be THAT guy. It's just selfish.
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kobaz
Mar 20, 2011, 11:31 PM
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USnavy wrote: Those are dental plans.
Where do you see that? I see coverage for doctor visits, emergency room visits, mental care, surgery and accidents.
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USnavy
Mar 20, 2011, 11:54 PM
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kobaz wrote: USnavy wrote: Those are dental plans. Where do you see that? I see coverage for doctor visits, emergency room visits, mental care, surgery and accidents.
Here:
I tried two different zip codes, one of which was in LA.
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carabiner96
Mar 20, 2011, 11:57 PM
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USnavy wrote: carabiner96 wrote: $100 a month is not bad at all for private, individual insurance. I work for an insurance company and I pay $80 a month, and that's with a workforce of many thousand employees. Accept that's for a policy that has a $5,000 deductible and a $3,500 coinsurance maximum out of pocket expense. So basically your looking at a fee of $8,500 for any real injury. Well as a college student $8,500 mind as well be $850,000, a student would likely have no choice but to declare bankruptcy to wave the debt. If he does that there is no point in having insurance at all. Even your standard middle class American would have a hard time coming up with $8,500 to pay a medical bill, I don't know many middle class people who have a family to look over that could afford such a bill. So the obvious answer is to get a policy without coinsurance and a low deductible, but than comes the $375 starting premium, and thats if your young and healthy.
All of the hospitals I've worked with for my various issues have been more than happy working out payment plans, etc, so it's not the drama you make it out to be.
(This post was edited by carabiner96 on Mar 21, 2011, 12:00 AM)
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kobaz
Mar 21, 2011, 12:18 AM
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USnavy wrote: kobaz wrote: USnavy wrote: Those are dental plans. Where do you see that? I see coverage for doctor visits, emergency room visits, mental care, surgery and accidents. Here: [img]http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/4088/87865706.jpg[/img] I tried two different zip codes, one of which was in LA.
Oh, they must not have plans in your area. I put in my PA zip 16617
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kobaz
Mar 21, 2011, 1:17 AM
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carabiner96 wrote: All of the hospitals I've worked with for my various issues have been more than happy working out payment plans, etc, so it's not the drama you make it out to be.
Yeah, that's the other thing is paying for it yourself is on many cases cheaper than carrying the insurance.
I've had health insurance on and off for the last several years. When I had health insurance it was company paid and I never used it. When I didn't have health insurance, I needed stuff done (an upper GI endoscopys for acid reflux $3500).
So that one procedure was $3500. Had I been paying for health coverage for the past 10 years.
120 months.
With $100/month bargain basement high deductible insurance that wouldn't have covered it anyway: $12,000
With something $250/month that might have covered it $30,000
With $500/month full coverage for everything: $60,000
Health insurance is such a racket. Had I had something serious, say two broken legs that needed surgery, I would have broke even with paying the 500 a month coverage. Having insurance for cancer or an organ transplant would definitely be a huge savings.
Forbid you did have a $200,000 hospital bill. I've been told that as long as you make some payments here and there, they won't really beat you down. Take this with some large salt, but somewhere I heard that someone was getting away with paying 10 bucks a month towards some huge bill and didn't have too much of a problem. The guy would be 200 years old by the time he finished paying it off.
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epoch
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Mar 21, 2011, 3:25 PM
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shockabuku wrote: College students, who aren't still covered by their parents - as most are, get mediocre insurance at moderate prices because they buy as a group. Aren't employers required to continue covering departing employees for some amount of time (for a fee) these days?
He should be covered under COBRA for a few months, but Obamacare should pick up the rest.
I'd say (1) don't get hurt; (2) you can get most of what you'd need for minor things over the counter; (3) get a job, deadbeat.
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