My health insurance, which is Anthem Blue Cross, is costing us $600 for Jamie, Tucker, and I total. We pay each individual, not as a family, because I needed maternity just in case. Jamie is his only employee and doesn’t get insurance through his own company. I have been realizing how expensive ours is, and I want to change providers or plans. Does anyone have health insurance they like? Please help! I am going nutso trying to figure out which is the best.
Health Insurance
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Soooo……I hate to tell you this, but $600 isn’t bad for a family rate. I do HR and Benefits at my company (and other companies for over 10 years) and for family coverage, we pay anywhere from $1500 – 2500 for family coverage for employees per month.
In terms of what you should get – Yes, you will probably have to have a deductible, but make sure your OOP Max (Out of pocket Maximum) is reasonable. Probably shouldn’t be more than $6,000 for family coverage. Yes, you will need a co-pay. Keep in mind that all that I’ve said is for traditional insurances, and there are many other options out there like HRA, HSA, HIA, etc….if you want info about those I can walk you through the differences, pros and cons, etc.
Now for the good news…Here is my suggestion for you…call this wonderful woman named Terri Harris at Integra Insurance. Her phone number is: (408) 688-0711 and her email is: tharris@integra-insurance.com . She is an insurance broker….they do individual insurance for people and knows the cheapest and best plans out there. She can answer your questions about what is best for you and your family, give you recommendations, speak in a language you understand, and DOESN’T CHARGE YOU A CENT!! Tell her that I gave you her name and she’ll take good care of you.
I’ve worked with her for about 10 years, so feel free to ask whatever you want and she will give it to you straight. If you are still confused and want more guidance, PLEASE let me know…I’m totally available to you for help!
p.s. One more note…don’t shy away from Kaiser from the get-go….it’s gotten a LOT better from years past and if Parker didn’t have dr requirements for his surgeries, I would TOTALLY have it! It’s much cheaper, you can pick your doctor, and their systems are amazing!
wow tons of great advice. we just had to switch from our wonderful blue shield to kaiser. i loved our doctor (also a family friend)..but we had to switch..anyway, i grew up on kaiser and it has it’s pros and cons. and what your friend said is true, it’s gottenWAYYY better and is cheaper. look into it! good luck, insurance stuff sucks ass.
THANK YOU Mnka and Lizbear….super big help! Free The Moms Baby!
Great website by the way!!
I feel your pain. We pay $470 for a family of three, which is not as bad. Our deductible is $2500 and we have Blue Shield PPO. I typically have a higher deductible but I knew there was a chance I could become pregnant this year so I chose to go with a smaller deductible.
Some lessons I have learned (that work for me, but may not work for you)…
- get a high deductible plan so that you pay less out of pocket each month. Beyond the fact that you could end up paying less over the course of the year if you have a fairly uneventful year with doctors/emergencies, I also realized that the nice thing about insurance is the huge discount you have on your bills which make them semi-affordable. So, for a bill that’s $500, your doctor has to write off some huge amount because of their contract with your insurance company, like $300 or so, and then you end up with a $200 bill. It sucks, but its a lot better than a $500 bill!
- a new law was passed (at least our hospital billing administration told me this) that makes it so that medical bills can not be reported to your credit as a delinquent payment… result? I pay $50/month on a $4000 bill and I will continue to do so until it’s paid off, but I’m not going out of my way to give them any more than I can afford. In fact, the last two months they haven’t gotten a penny and I’m just fine with that because I know they can’t do shit! I have a close friend who has cancer and she pays $5/month on her bills! Cancer is stressful enough. She pays to keep them off her back but she has enough problems.
- I know that the stress of having a large unpaid bill in your life sucks, but I find it very freeing to send in little checks and have my money remain in my bank – it gives me a sense of control and a feeling that until they figure out our huge insurance disaster in the US, I’m not paying anyone a dime more than I have to in order to get by!
My insurance broker is Charles Knoblauch (www.todayshealthinsurance.com) and I like him because if I haven’t paid on time (which often happens since we own a construction company and have an unsteady income) he will call us to remind us that if we don’t pay by a certain date our insurance will be cancelled, which I really appreciate!
Good luck!
Thanks Kate! So much good advice that I really need. Liz said you have a vegan website? I am a vegan 95% of the time and a Vegetarian the other 5% (gotta have a pizza once in a while) but I am going to check it out ASAP. Again, Thanks.
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