Help! health insurance going up 38.00 a week!

[sparkysgirl]

we just can't afford that! is there a site where I can shop around?

[poundwise]

I know a company you may want to check and a person at that company who helped me immeasurably. I'll PM you the details.

Best wishes.

[sparkysgirl]

please do!!

[kristinecfp]

You might also check out www.ehealthinsurance.com to do some comparison shopping. In addition, you might want to look into Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), which are high deductible health insurance plans with a savings account feature. These aren't right for everyone, but if you're in good health and don't spend a lot on medical expenses each year, this could be a good alternative.

Article with more information on HSAs:
http://www.kiplinger.com/features/ar...04/02/hsa.html

[b4freedom]

Get used to it. The price of all health insurance for everyone is going up.

What I don't understand is this:

I go to the DR for XYZ medical problem. If I don't have insurance, they give me the bill and it'll be something like $500 for the XYZ proceedure. However, if I have insurance, then it will cost me $10. But, my insurance company doesn't actually pay the $490 difference. They pay a prenegotiated rate of something like $180. It's wrong. Can someone explain this too me?

[Raisecapital01]

Are your company's insurance going up or insurance you pay for out of your own pockets 100%? I do not want to jump to any conclusion too soon.

[vishenda]

Health insurance is a necessity, however, maybe not at the levels you are spending. What is really necessary is a plan to "stop the bleeding" If you have medical bills of $5,000 or even $10,000, most people can eventually dig themselves out of that hole. But $50,000 or $100,000 usually causes bankruptcy and the 7 years of pain after that. You might look at a higher deductible health plan. John Alden / Assurant has some of the best I have seen (My personal insurance is through John Alden). I would get with an agent. Most of them can write through several companies and know who currently has the best rates in your area.

[katwoman]

Originally Posted by vishenda

I would get with an agent. Most of them can write through several companies and know who currently has the best rates in your area.

Not only that, a good agent knows who actually pays timely on the claims and what funny exclusions a insurer may have.

I love my agent. He's a little too winded but he's worth his weight in gold.

[sakigt]

Originally Posted by b4freedom

Get used to it. The price of all health insurance for everyone is going up.

What I don't understand is this:

I go to the DR for XYZ medical problem. If I don't have insurance, they give me the bill and it'll be something like $500 for the XYZ proceedure. However, if I have insurance, then it will cost me $10. But, my insurance company doesn't actually pay the $490 difference. They pay a prenegotiated rate of something like $180. It's wrong. Can someone explain this too me?

Your insurance company bargained with the doctor's office. Kinda like going to Sams Club vs Walmart.

Of course there is a lot of politics going on with this....especially with prescriptions.

[CRFSaver]

Is this a group plan you cant afford or privately purchased insurance. If it is a group plan I would really be careful before going outside of it. There are advantages to group plans.

[saver25]

The purchasing power of large insurance companies with many members like Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare, Aetna, etc. allow them to negotiate lower rates for all of their members. This is important to keep in mind when you compare health plans as some of the deductible only plans like HSA's (Health Savings Accounts) have no copay for Doctor's visits or prescriptions but yet if you choose a plan from a large company then you will still enjoy the lower ngotiated rates.

[PRICEPLUS]

Mine just went up 61 dollars. It is pretty good insurance and I guess I''ll just pay it. Medical costs keeop going up every year! Damn!

[saver25]

Generally speaking, individual health insurance premiums will be approximately one half the cost of a comparable group health insurance plan because of the differences in underwriting.

With group health insurance you will be automatically approved regardless of your health history where on the individual health side you will have to answer questions going back over your last 10 years of health history and the insurance company can choose to accept/decline you.

Of course, it follows that group health is more expensive than individual as the insurance company can pick an choose who they want to insure on the individual side where on the group side they have to take everyone regardless of health issues. (A good way to think of it is if you are healthy then you are in a sense subsidizing the cost of your unhealthy coworkers who have cancer, diabetes, etc.)

[saver25]

I forgot to mention that of course if your employer will pay all or most of the premiums for your plan then it almost always makes sense to take the free money!

(Sometimes it can make sense to shop for an individual plan for your spouse/kids if the employer will not pay for their portion of the monthly premium and they are fairly healthy - you can usually find an individual plan from the same company that offers your group coverage as well that way the whole family is on the same network with the same insurance company, etc. Hint: Use the price transparency of the Internet to shop rates at Health Insurance Quote 360, ehealthinsurance.com or some other comparison site).

[thebeacon]

If you are on a company group plan in some states they might require you to stay on their health plan. Health insurance going up 38 a week in a chunk of change. I would definitely see if I can find agent in your area or agent that you can talk to on the phone. There are plenty of websites that can give you instant quotes and you can also call them directly and talk to the agent

[ealimbuyao]

Originally Posted by poundwise

I know a company you may want to check and a person at that company who helped me immeasurably. I'll PM you the details.

Best wishes.

Can you email me too? ealimbuyao@yahoo.com

[ealimbuyao]

My employer has announced last week that our premiums starting Jan 2008 will increase by $ 26.14 biweekly, that is $72.01/month.

[Fern]

First, are you sure there isn't another plan or plans available thru your employer or do they offer just the one plan?

[sweeps]

Be happy that you have employer-provided health insurance. There was an article in yesterday's USA Today stating that the numbers of companies offering it are shrinking. The expert was saying that employer-provided health insurance will go the way of pensions.

[mackybethsmommy]

My DH's work offers like 6 plans and they go up every year. So we sit down and go through and see which one is the most affordable for us to pay. This year we were with Aetna and they went up $20 bucks a week so we switched over to UHC for next year. The plan is about the same just a little higher deductable and the payment is $20 cheaper than what we are paying now. Be sure to thoroughly read through the package your company sends you. It maybe be you have more insurance than you really need and can switch to a cheaper version.