<p>No…we have to pay a percentage until we meet the deductible…</p>
<p>And the insurance companies negotiate the costs down …</p>
<p>It is 15,000 plus the premiums…</p>
<p>It’s not that bad…it is bad enough :)</p>
<p>Dstark, you are incorrect about the guy’s wife who is recovering from cancer being “uninsurable”. Insurance companies by law are no longer allowed to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions</p>
<p>How much is it going to cost?</p>
<p>15 years ago…a friend’s wife got cancer…and she could not get insurance for 10 years…</p>
<p>Actually…another friend of mine had the same problem…</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.healthinsuranceproviders.com/does-my-healthcare-history-affect-my-health-insurance-bill/[/url]”>http://www.healthinsuranceproviders.com/does-my-healthcare-history-affect-my-health-insurance-bill/</a></p>
<p>We’re in the same position as dstark. We’ve got a high deductible plan ($5000 per person with 2 of us covered by the plan) and still pay $1400/month in premiums. I can’t wait to see what our premiums will be like when we hit 60 years old in a few years.</p>
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<p>I thought that provision doesn’t go into effect until 2014.</p>
<p>I think that is correct…</p>
<p>[What</a> private health insurance companies would cover me?](<a href=“http://www.healthinsuranceproviders.com/what-private-health-insurance-companies-would-cover-me/]What”>What private health insurance companies would cover me? - Health Insurance Providers)</p>
<p>okay - hope this isn’t too off topic</p>
<p>If someone is self-employed, and very responsibly paying BC a whole lot for catastrophic insurance. And someone gets cancer. And can’t work for a while so income is down and then can’t afford premiums…</p>
<p>although someone pays them as long as possible, prioritizing above mortgage payments…</p>
<p>could that person end up with no insurance, living in their luxury SUV (maybe their last remaining possession? maybe moving around and hoping it isn’t repossessed?) and really needing to take advantage of a food pantry?</p>
<p>Amandakayak wrote:
Self-employed sole proprietors cannot get even small-business rates unless they employ 2 people and alot of people fudge that the wife is a different policy holder, that she is the bookkeeper, just for the healthcare policy benefits.</p>
<p>It is not always true that a sole proprietor has to ‘fudge’ about a spouse as an employee. Our medical insurance company rep stated that they simply assume that the spouse is an employee and offer the ‘discount’ to married sole proprietor business owners. </p>
<p>Of course the word ‘discount’ must be in quotes because it is hard to believe that we are playing a discounted price when we are paying over $1000 a month for our family. Co-pays are $30 a visit and $50 for a specialist.</p>
<p>Instead of us dropping ourselves down to the lowest common denominator, and blaming those of us who have employer-sponsored plans, perhaps we should focus on providing affordable plans to those without them! My employer-offered plan is part of my benefits, and the cost is reflected in my lower salary. Why aren’t small businesses and individuals grouping together to negotiate lower premiums similar to the ones large businesses pay? </p>
<p>I have loads of sympathy for those paying outrageous healthcare costs, but taking away affordable care for some people would just end up with a lose-lose situation!</p>
<p>
They can’t deny coverage, but they can charge so much that it’s basically the same thing.</p>
<p>We paid $12,500 last year in premiums for a family of five. My husband and I are a two-person firm. I’m a registered structural engineer, so I’m not a token employee, lol. Over $30,000 out-of-pocket. That’s not a typo. The OOP figure does include orthodontics, dental, eye care, and Rx. This year, we’ll pay $14,000 in premiums. We’ll be in trouble if our OOP costs remain high.</p>
<p>I ran figures to see if it made sense to spend more to get a lower deductible, and it didn’t, even with my sons’ major medical expenses.</p>
<p>We are a family of 5, high deductible plan, 966 per month. Deductibles are 10K for family -one annual visit is covered pp. ! Some of you should count blessings on your current costs. FYI, premium increase for me this year was 27%.</p>
<p>Some of your costs are giving me a headache. :)</p>
<p>The thought of high premiums coupled with deductibles and caps is beyond scary</p>
<p>This thread frightens me.</p>
<p>Sorry, but all of you have absolutely fantastic deals and should be grateful. My H is uninsurable (multiple pre-existing condtions) and can only get coverage through our state’s high risk pool. His monthly premiums (his alone) are closing in on $2000. Yeah, I said $2000. We own a small business, but our two employees are young and unskilled and don’t want and can’t really afford to devote any of their wages to insurance, so to have a group plan we would have to cover all their premiums and would come out worse in the end. Those who still have inexpensive health coverage through their employers are truly blessed.</p>
<p>at least you have one annual physical covered. Someone in our family has an individual policy and NOTHING is covered until the deductible is reached…nada. So…premiums are paid AND the deductible is paid annually.</p>
<p>Anthem had the GALL to want to raise the rates of these individual policy holders because Anthem claimed they were costing the company too much money. HOW??? When the folks don’t reach the deductible…what is it costing Anthem…not a dime.</p>
<p>The benefit of having the policy is that the doctors reduce the cost to the allowable amount if they participate in Anthem. I don’t want to debate this…but if anyone is getting stiffed…it’s the doctors, NOT ANTHEM.</p>
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<p>Sorry to hear about your H’s situation. </p>
<p>But just a not-so-small nit: there is no such thing as “inexpensive health coverage.” The fact that employers pay for it does not make it inexpensive. It’s just one compensation expense to the employer that otherwise could go to salaries, other benefits, or company profits (and dividends to shareholders). Or, if the employer is a government entity, that expense is paid by the taxpayers, i.e., you and me.</p>
<p>But inexpensive???</p>
<p>I want to restate, I DO feel terrible that so many of you are burdened with high health care costs. We need healthcare reform and a hard look at end-of-life care and appropriate use of medicine. Unfortunately, when these discussions come up, we have people shouting “that’s socialism” and “death panels” and other such nonsense. I am all for single-payer universal health coverage, and if that makes me a socialist, so be it.<br>
However, " ending all taxpayer subsidies for healthcare" will not solve the problem. We need to fight for mandatory affordable healthcare for all.</p>
<p>Let’s hear it from any Fed employee and/or their family members. Their deals are soooo good. Talk about “subsidized” group.</p>
<p>And not wishing to get “political” but who is going to pay for and benefit financially for those proposed required, but not necessary, ultrasounds for pregnant women?</p>