How Much Does Your Family Pay??

Our employer offered health plan is $445 a month for family coverage. It's entirely PPO though, no deductibles or co-insurance. Most services are a $25 copay, $50 hospital, $15 generic med, $25 brand name meds.

:(

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Sadly it is normal. I carry the health insurance and it costs me more than $150 a week for 2 adults & 2 infants. I think the deductible is something like 500 each. We pay 20 per reg appt and specialists & urgent care are 50.

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Until June 7th

Family of 3
(in general, since actual types of medical care vary)
400 a month for 80/20 or 100/0 with a
3k per person/7k per family deductible per year
$25 per office vist
$35 per specialist
$100 per ER (This is what KILLS us, we've been to the ER 6 times in 2 months)
$20/$50 for Rx's

After June 7th (husband changing jobs)

450 a month for 20/80 1500 per person/ 5k per family
$10 per office / $15 per specialist
ER 100 unless hospitalized, then 0 (yay!!! We always get admitted

We're actually REALLY excited about our insurance change, because while our last insurance covered a LOT at 100%... it's an East Coast Insurer (East Coat Company bought his West Coast Company). ONLY hospitals and wal-marts accepted our insurance out here on this coast. Talk about a nightmare. Not only that but it was a PPO, meaning that they had to approve the vast majority of proceedures. We've had more than one nebulizing treatment in the ER not approved (since he'd already had one) and so got stuck with the price of the other 4 that were needed to keep my son from suffering permanent brain damage (asthma meds can take a LONG time to work on my son, but there's no other option, a tracheotomy wouldn't even help because he's able to breathe, just not transfer the oxygen into his blood). Ditto, we've had many other necessary procedures (as in, do this or he'll die) disapproved after the fact by our insurance.

Even with the super high deductible & lack of providers & approval for proceedures that stick us with a HEFTY bill... we were THRILLED with the insurance we're leaving behind. For the 6 years prior we had either NO insurance ($350 well child, $500+ for sick child (labs always equaled about 1k), 1500-10k per ER trip, Hundreds of thousands for hospitalization)... or we had super crappy THEY pay 20%, we paid 80% and no cap (aka there was no deductible to meet... if a bill was 10k, we had to pay 8k. Turn around and have another 10k bill, we'd have to pay 8k again.)

Seriously... 40 million with no insurance, Bush changed the laws so that medical debt tanked your credit rating AND can be sent into collection and the courts (Reagan changed it so it didn't and Clinton kept the policy, and Obama hasn't tossed the law as yet), and no affordable option for individual insurance (seriously, the option would have left us with $300 a month for rent, food, electricity... but we wouldn't have qualified for low income help, because we'd be "choosing" to buy insurance rather than a roof and food)... ugh. And I was working in a hospital!!! (not enough hours for benefits at only 32 per week).

Coming from a military family, and then going active duty myself... I came from a background of socialized medicine (all healthcare is 100% free in the military, and you just show up in the morning and get seen) to being a "citizen"??? Yeah. NHS may be constantly toeing the line between solvency and bankruptcy, but at least hundreds of thousands of UK citizens aren't dying because they can't afford to go to the doctor. ((My best friend works in Oncology, more than 3/4s of their patients come in with "something has been wrong for 2-3 years". If they'd come in when they first noticed a persistant ache, or an odd numb spot, or small lump... they'd have lived. As it is the VAST majoity of their patients come to them already in Nstage. From working in an ER, I can't even *count* the number of people who are coming in with illnesses that could have easily been treated LONG before they were critical just by seeing their doctor. It's the kids that hurt the most. Not just sick kids, but parents so sick they can't take care of them when 5 pills would have wiped out the infection.)). Okay, soapbox, climbing down now.

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I haven't had a family health insurance plan for several years but I paid $443/month for an 80/20 plan with a $500 dectutable on me and $250 on each of my 2 kids.

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I WISH we paid $250 deductible a year! We pay $4000 for our family of 4 and then 20% til we hit $11,000. (After $11,000 we don't have to pay the 20%.) You have a great deal! And we do pay a lot more than you do per month.

The thing is, I have to actually admit that I am okay with this because we do very well and since we make more money, I think it's fair for us to pay higher premiums and deductibles so that others who make less money can have health insurance.

So.... you aren't getting hosed. But if you don't have a paycheck that covers what you need to cover, I can see why you'd feel this is a lot of money. It's all relative, when you get down to it.

D.

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I'm an insurance agent in AZ and you can't compare any insurance product to someone else. Its based on how much the company pays as well as the industry code, number of employees, health issues, zip code and many other factors. If you want to know for sure, contact an independent agent in your state and they can let you know if you are paying too much or not. Good luck.

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Sounds typical to me.
And it is often more.

Our co-pay, is $15.

Also, per each employer and the size of the company, 'group rates' will vary, which then determines, how much each Employee pays.
That is how, at least, our local Health Insurance person, explained it to me.
Not all Employers, are at the same rates. And it depends what their group rates are and what their groups plans, are.
It is not a one size shoe fits all, in terms of plan type or rates.

For your kids, if you qualify, you can try and get a State Sponsored medical insurance for your kids.
For example:
http://www.healthyfamilies.ca.gov/Home/default.aspx
These rates are lower.

For us, my kids are on our State's state covered medical insurance plan. It is GOOD. And a ton cheaper.
The quality of each State's plan, will vary.
And then, my Husband pays for my medical insurance, through his Employer. I am covered under him. Thus, we pay less. Because my kids are on the State insurance coverage plan.

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We pay a lot more than you do. We pay 500 per month plus have a 1000 per person deductible.

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I pay $100 a month, but have a $3000 deductable per person and have to pay that upfront before the insurance company will pay anything. This also does not include any dental or vision insurance.

OMG - you have a GREAT plan!! I have a $10K deductible - and office co-pays are $25 - plus we pay about $600/month for our insurance.......I do have to say that my work pays for 1/2 of the deductible, but still, that is $5K that I have to come up with out of pocket if for some reason there is some big expense.......

We are currently on COBRA. which is supposed to be 110% of what our employer paid. We pay $1000 a month for a family plan PPO, $20 for office visits, $50 for emergency care. We have dental and vision and also prescription which has a $200 per person deductible. I wish it didn't cost so much!

We pay around $260 a month, but we have an HMO with $30 PCP and $50 for a specialist, Urgent Care is $75 and ER is $150 and no deductible. We thought about switching to a PPO, but for my husband and I it's worth the savings to have to go to a PCP before a specialist since we are pretty healthy and I don't need a referral for by OBGYN. Prescription coverage sucks, but I don't know if it would be better on the PPO anyway. I would think about making the switch to the HMO if his employer offers on next time around since it sounds like you don't go to the doctor that often. As for the kids, what are the chances you would go to a specialist before your pediatrician anyway, so what's the point in having that option with the PPO. SOmething to think about.

We pay around $350 including dental. Our ins is through a hospital and our ER visits just went up this year to 150. Our deductible is 750 with an 80/20 ppo. Our Dr. visits are 25-30 can't remember exactly. I think this is very steep considering that the hospital we work at, we still have to pay 150 to go to the ER! I'm not complaining, because overall, it's a decent plan, I just think a hospital would offer better ins.

I think you have a pretty darn good plan. So you should consider yourself lucky that 1) you get a pretty good deal and 2) you are healthy enough and you don't need to use it, but it's there "just in case".

I wish I had your plan. I pay about $219 every 2 weeks for PPO, $500 deductible, with $3000 out of pocket individual and $6000 out of pocket for family. But well visits/physicals are completely covered at 100% and my son gets very VERY expensive medication so after he meets that first individual deductible, I do not have to pay anymore. Then I just have to worry about the rest of us having something going on.

I pay $26 per week, for a family of four. We have dental, health, and vision included in that. We all get a free eye exam once per year, and 2 free teeth cleanings each person per year. We have a 3000 deductible tho, so we pretty much have to pay for everything until we get to that point. It's called "healthy choices" where I work, which is for a very large company. They figure if you have to pay for it all, you might think again before you go to the dr for piddly reasons. I understand that.

I'm jealous. I pay $170 for my own plan, which is 80/20 and $750 deductible. My co-pay is $30. I almost never use it. But I gotta have it.

All told, we pay $700+ for health insurance - no dental. I have a $1500 deductible and my husband has a $1000 deductible and I can't remember how much it is for the kids.

I'll trade ya! :)

Edit* The $700 is per month

oooh....we pay $400 a month for a family of 4 - dental (includes braces), vision, health and prescriptions.

We have a small ($1500) FSA (we'll be using that for our 2nd son's braces this year as they cover 50% and we guess it will be $1500) and an HSA account - and $200 (I Think) goes into that....

No office co-pays once we hit our family deductible of $2,500 - and we did that in Feb with my hysterectomy........

I have amazingly good health insurance in my area, I pay about $100 per month with 100% coverage and a $300/$600 deducatable per year, for a family of 4. We pay $30 per visit. My husband (who can't opt out) pays 5% of his salary just for his own insurance. Its robbery if you ask me...

It sounds resonable. If you ever have something major happen you will be so thankful its there. Count your blessings for a happy family. :)

We're a family of 3 and have PPO which we pay out about 330$ a month for health and dental insurance through his employer.

We are on the PPO 200 plan and I pay $266 a month. The plan is 90/10, with a yearly out-of-pocket of $2000. My employer's cost per month is $1469 (they're very generous - thank you work!)

This is the most expensive plan that is offered but I chose it because I know that for this year our family will hit our max out-of-pocket in no time at all (we have a FSA for that amount, so it'll be taken out of my paycheck pre-tax). I know that next year I have to do a sleep study, I see a dermatologist, I go to my ob/gyn every 6 months if not more, I will have to have foot surgery, and all four of us will have physical exams. The 18 month old will also receive several vaccinations. So...I know we'll hit our max $2000 no problem, so that plan was the best choice for us. We STILL will be coming out ahead.

If I knew that we were a family that barely went to the doctors, I would change to the 350, 750, or 2500 deductible plans, if I thought we'd never get close to those.

I will never complain about my PPO because it allows me the flexibility to see doctors of my choosing. Prior, I was on an HMO plan (which was like heaven) but had to change because all of a sudden BCBS HMO dropped my medical group!

I pay a little under $150 a month for major medical, dental, and vision. That is with a 90/10 PPO, $5000 family deductible, and an HSA that gets $2000 a year put in by my employer that will rollover each year up to $20,000. No copays for doctor visits, it all comes out of the deductible/HSA, aside from regular wellness visits which are fully covered. My employer pays over triple that, so we have been very lucky. The benefits at my job more than make up for the salary bump I would get if I went to work for another company in the same field. My son and I rarely get sick, so the large deductible isn't an issue, especially with the HSA. Have you tried upping your deductible to see how much it would save you? You might look when his annual enrollment comes up.

Sounds very normal. It actually sounds better than I have heard some people have. Sad but true. You might just be a lucky one.

Under my husband's plan, we pay about $800 per month. Doctor's visits are a $25 co-pay with anything other than a primary care doctor which is $30. What kills us is that after paying all that per month, we still have to pay $50 co-pay on MOST precriptions - as in anything that's a name brand. I'm usually allergic to generic everything so I'm stuck paying the $50 co-pay every time. There are also meds my daughter needs for her allergies like a nasal spray that costs $50 for one month's worth. Every other nasal spray makes her nose bleed or makes her dizzy. We also pay $100 for ER visits and $250 for hospital visits as co-pays. Our dental coverage barely covers anything and it seems we always end up paying an additional $1,000-$3,000 every year out of pocket for things we (mostly my husband) needs done that are never covered. Same with vision. My daughter needs several "specialist" visits per year and those co-pays really add up.

When I do our taxes and add up everything including all the out-of-pocket stuff, it costs our family of 3 almost $14,000 per year - yes, you read that right.

I think we pay slightly more than you with a much higher deductable ($1500 per person per year) and copays ($30.00 office $40.00 specialists).

Sounds like you have a very good deal, to me.

You've got a decent plan, IMO. My family plan is $450 a month for medical and $40 a month for dental. It's a full EPO (like an HMO - no deductible). PCP visits are free for regular well visits, $20 for all others. "Specialists" (anyone other than our PCPs) are $40. ER is $50.

Oh sweety- that's a GREAT deal! You do not want to know the details of my policy!