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+--- Thread: New health care bill (/showthread.php?tid=8787)
Re: New health care bill - .RJ - 03-23-2010
Most of our lives will probably end instantly and in a ball of fire, so its not much of an issue here :lol:
Re: New health care bill - WRXtranceformed - 03-23-2010
WHERE IS THIS PIE I WAS PROMISED??
Re: New health care bill - Steve85 - 03-23-2010
WRXtranceformed Wrote:WHERE IS THIS PIE I WAS PROMISED??
In the sky, Lee...in the sky.
Re: New health care bill - ScottyB - 03-23-2010
one aspect that really bothers me about this bill, and situation in general is the lack of tort reform. i think a large amount of this huge mess is built upon the foundation of extremely expensive care, which in turn is due to having to have doctors run tons of generally useless tests and carry outrageous insurance in order to hedge themselves against law suits - and of course they pass those costs on down the line. i think if you can bring the costs of care down through proper tort reform it will have a big impact on the entire scenario (amongst other problems).
on a personal level my in-laws neighbor friend, who they've known for over 15 years, was driven into early retirement for this exact reason. he is an extremely talented urologist who i believe performed the first kidney transplant in the Roanoke valley. he wants to work but after alot of consultation with his financial advisor he opted to leave his profession for retirement due to his insurance levels having to be so astronomically high in order to avoid law suits. Doctors like him aren't on every street corner - it's a shame to lose people like that who literally cannot afford to work despite their talent and work ethic.
also, gimme some pennsylvania dutch shoo-fly pie. aw yeah that's the stuff.
![[Image: 153_167_large.jpg]](http://shop.kitchenkettle.com/images/uploads/153_167_large.jpg)
Re: New health care bill - Steve85 - 03-23-2010
I haven't had shoo-fly in a loooooooooong time....mmmmm, good call.
Re: New health care bill - WRXtranceformed - 08-10-2010
Well, I finally got my shit squared away with my own health / life coverage. Technically I don't HAVE to have life insurance other than a burial policy so my family doesn't have to pay $xx,xxx on my funeral, but I'd rather that my house and car were paid off and left to my family to do what they will with it (give them to my brother to use, donate to charity, etc.) than have my creditors divide up my estate and everything goes into foreclosure.
Picked up $200,000 worth of health insurance which effectively covers all of my debt and burial expense, it's only about $18 / month for a 20 year term at the elite rate since apparently I don't have AIDS and I don't smoke. When I get married and have children I'll pick up a few million more to help take care of them if I pass away, but for now that's fine.
Also got an HSA through Wellpath (Coventry One) which is basically a carbon copy of BCBS except a LOT cheaper. Basically the same coverages, PCHS network, etc. Coverage for me is like $116 / month with I think a $2000 deductible and 100% coinsurance after that. This is a LOT better coverage (albeit more expensive) than many corporately provided plans. Plus I can put $3050 into it every year and write it off completely, which to me being self-employed is full of win. The only downside is I can't touch that money other than for medical / dental / vision / etc. expenses without penalty (like an IRA) until I'm 59.5. But that's fine because I suck at saving anyway, plus that money rolls over year after year. Oh, there's also no yearly or lifetime limits. I put it off for long enough, but with as much driving as I do I had to get this squared away.
Re: New health care bill - .RJ - 08-10-2010
$116/mo is about half of what I pay into our company plan
What are your per-visit copays?
Re: New health care bill - WRXtranceformed - 08-10-2010
.RJ Wrote:$116/mo is about half of what I pay into our company planThe way the HSA works is that you have a yearly deductible that will come out of the savings account, and everything (including medications) comes out of that deductible. That includes doctors / specialists visits. So once you meet that deductible, everything is paid by the insurance company in this case 100% thereafter.
What are your per-visit copays?
So, let's say I got into a car accident and had to spend the night in the hospital. I'm likely going to blast through that deductible pretty quickly. Everything for the rest of the year afterwards health-wise is covered though (including that visit).
My particular health plan includes (I believe, I'll have to double check when the paperwork comes in) 2 preventative doctors visits for free though. i.e. physicals. So those don't have to come out of the account. There are a few other things that are covered for free as well such as prostate exams, amberlamps rides, etc....I'll have to double check. The truth is though, most doctors office bills aren't going to be more than $150 unless you're getting a lot of work done...same goes true for specialist visits (for the most part). They're usually in the $250+ range if you're getting some pricey tests done. Copays are nice, but in reality your premiums are much higher and you've essentially already paid for that visit, maybe even more from your monthly insurance premiums
.HSAs are awesome if you're healthy and you don't go to the doctor much. Even so, it probably balances out in the grand scheme of things in terms of paying less premiums... assuming you aren't going to the doctor on a monthly basis. Plus the tax advantage is great, I need all the help I can get. My biggest concern was the 100% coinsurance and the fact that my biggest medical bills would come from a catastrophic accident or long hospital stay, not doctors visits. That's where with many insurance plans, with your deductible and 80/20 or 70/30 coinsurance, you could be looking at a $5,000 to $10,000 out of pocket until you hit your stop loss.
Re: New health care bill - Apoc - 08-10-2010
.RJ Wrote:$116/mo is about half of what I pay into our company plan
What are your per-visit copays?
You're getting fucked. I pay less than that every two weeks for me + 1. Coverage is 100% after $15 copay.
Re: New health care bill - .RJ - 08-10-2010
Apoc Wrote:You're getting fucked
Several ways over.
Re: New health care bill - WRXtranceformed - 08-10-2010
Apoc Wrote:That's for doctors visits right? That's pretty standard. The important thing to look at is deductibles and your coinsurance. Your big health bills rarely come from doctors / specialist visits, they come from.RJ Wrote:$116/mo is about half of what I pay into our company plan
What are your per-visit copays?
You're getting fucked. I pay less than that every two weeks for me + 1. Coverage is 100% after $15 copay.
There aren't many companies that I know of anymore that still provide employee health benefits with 100% coinsurance. If you do that's phenomenal :thumbup:
Re: New health care bill - HAULN-SS - 08-10-2010
What do you mean by "coinsurance?"
Re: New health care bill - WRXtranceformed - 08-11-2010
When you have a medical bill, there is usually a deductible you have to pay right off the bat. After your deductible, you split the cost of the rest of the bill with the insurance company up to a maximum amount. Historically many plans are 80/20 coinsurance meaning that the insurance company pays 80% and you pay 20% up to a certain amount (stop loss). Nowadays with health insurance becoming less affordable for companies and individuals, 70/30 plans and even 50/50 plans are becoming more popular. It basically just means you have more out of pocket on your medical bill.
So, you have $50,000 worth of medical bills after an accident and a $2500 deductible with 80/20 coinsurance. You have a max out of pocket of $10,000 per the policy.
You pay $2500 for your deductible. The remaining balance is $47,500. You have to pay 20% of this amount, which is $9500. Since your max out of pocket is $10,000, you only end up paying another $7500 while the insurance company pays 100% of the rest. That is coinsurance.
Re: New health care bill - HAULN-SS - 08-11-2010
Oh. Woot..this makes me like my new jobs insurance even more. I never thought about what that meant before, because I've never had to use my insurance. They pay 100% coinsurance in-network with no deductible
Re: New health care bill - WRXtranceformed - 08-11-2010
That's about as good as it gets right there, what is your monthly premium taken out of your paycheck? I'm glad some companies can still afford to provide good benefits to their employees.
Re: New health care bill - Evan - 08-11-2010
I pay over $300 / mo for me +1
its a good plan, blue cross /blue shield PPO with no deductible and small copays.
Re: New health care bill - Apoc - 08-11-2010
I looked it up.
Me + 1
UHC PPO
$100/month
$0 deductible
100% coinsurance
Copays: PCP - $10 / Specialist - $20 / Urgent - $50 / ER - $150
Our vacation plan isn't great (it's PTO) but they make it up with health insurance.
Re: New health care bill - HAULN-SS - 08-11-2010
WRXtranceformed Wrote:That's about as good as it gets right there, what is your monthly premium taken out of your paycheck? I'm glad some companies can still afford to provide good benefits to their employees.
They pay the premium too. My only paycheck deduction will be taxes, and if I decided to contribute extra to the 401k plan (they put in 6% automatically)
I knew them paying the premiums was good, but I never thought about the coinsurance part of it
Re: New health care bill - .RJ - 08-11-2010
Apoc Wrote:You're getting fucked. I pay less than that every two weeks for me + 1. Coverage is 100% after $15 copay.
I pay in $250/mo... just for me. Copays are $20 for the doctor, $40 for specialists (that added up fast when I busted my shoulder), and there's some split of coverage past the copay for big things. I forget what it is, but hospital visits arent cheap. Its really not very good.
Re: New health care bill - WRXtranceformed - 08-11-2010
HAULN-SS Wrote:You are beyond fortunate. Don't take this personally, because I'm not pointing the finger at you by any means, but people in your situation happen to be the people who are the first (and loudest) to bitch about health care reform. Mostly because they just don't get it. It's easy to take something for granted when YOU don't actually have to pay for it.WRXtranceformed Wrote:That's about as good as it gets right there, what is your monthly premium taken out of your paycheck? I'm glad some companies can still afford to provide good benefits to their employees.
They pay the premium too. My only paycheck deduction will be taxes, and if I decided to contribute extra to the 401k plan (they put in 6% automatically)
I knew them paying the premiums was good, but I never thought about the coinsurance part of it
My point is, count your blessings that you are getting free healthcare, because 98% of us aren't and a good portion of that are paying a LOT in premiums and out of pocket when they go to the hospital.