Health care and your job

jsolari

Hey guys,

I am currntly fielding a few offers in the it consulting field. Just wondering what is average for health care out of pocket? At my current company I pay 300 a moth for my ppo for a family of three. Just trying to decide what's good and bad.

Hyper-Me

I pay 150 for myself. 300 is about right for a family, give or take a few bucks.

Zartanasaurus

I pay $50/mo for myself.

Plantwiz

jsolari wrote: »

Hey guys,

I am currntly fielding a few offers in the it consulting field. Just wondering what is average for health care out of pocket? At my current company I pay 300 a moth for my ppo for a family of three. Just trying to decide what's good and bad.

Depends on your State, your health and your family size and age (which you stated is 3), so it depends...

If you are covered for $300, that sounds cheap to me, but IIRC my State is one of the most expensive.

You can 'save' some money by increasing your deductible (and save that money to pay expenses when needed) that will keep your premiums down.

Know your coverage and also what your 'stop loss' is (that's the amount the Insurance co stops paying for treatment (typically about 1Million Dollars, but can vary).

If you qualify, look into an HSA. The out-of-pocket is higher, but you are able to save the money (similar to a ROTH IRA) tax free and build that account for a 'rainy' day. IF however, you are making frequent trips to the doctor or would hit the full deductible each year, then it may not be a great plan for you. Typically, younger people do very well by these. Major medical is covered, you pay minor medical and if you don't spend the money from the HSA...you save it and it grows (tax free).

NightShade03

I actually got a sweet deal with my company....they cover health and dental in full with a $15 copay for either. This includes single person and family plans. Like it was mentioned already though it varies from state to state and company.

eMeS

I (through my company) pay about $1k per month for my wife, my kid and me.

It's generally somewhat expensive if you have to go out into the open market and get it.

We have a very good plan with a low deductible.

MS

xenodamus

Seems to me it would be much higher than $300/mo if you're buying a policy in the open market. I'm covered at work, but my wife has an independent policy @$150/mo and she's 21 with no prior health issues.

tpatt100

Make sure to actually read what coverage actually covers and not just the price. My wife has great coverage at the University and my employer offers the same plan for a little more money so we stayed with hers. Last year due to medical issues with my wife's pregnancy she was in the hospital for most of the third trimester and my son was in for two weeks for bacterial meningitis. The totals was something like 150-200 grand.

Our total out of pocket was only a couple of hundred total.

At my old job a coworker almost went into debt due to a complicated pregnancy. Not all insurance is the same.

bwcarty

I pay about $290 a month for my HMO that covers me and my family (wife and son). My company pays an additional $850/month to cover the full cost of that plan.

No deductible, only a $15 copay for regular appointments, $25 for specialists, $50 for urgent care, and $100 for emergency room, and it includes a prescription drug plan.

This plan literally saved my life a number of years ago. I had to go through four months of chemotherapy and an additional month of radiation treatments (see my link in my sig if you want to know why), and I probably spent less than $1500 out of pocket for the whole course of treatment.

Plantwiz brought up a good point about HSAs and flexible spending accounts. If they're available, definitely look into them.

arwes

$0.00 Seriously, that's one of the best things about working here (I work for a slightly less than medium sized insurance agency). $1,000 deductible, but I think I've had that everywhere else I've worked. They cover me 100% but should I ever get married, they'll cover my spouse 80% I believe (and same for children as well I believe).