This has been a problem in our house. I currently have a crappy plan that pays little and covers the basics. My SO has none, but has a new job that will give us both really good coverage, but not for six months.
So, what have you guys got, if any. And if you don’t have any, does it scare you?
Yes, we have United HealthCare through the hospital. The copays are a bit high ($20 for regular office visits, $30 for specialist visits, $50 for urgent care center visits, $80 for trips to the ER, $25 for name brand prescriptions), but it’s paid for pretty much everything we’ve needed while we’ve had it. It even covered all the expenses associated with me getting an IUD, which a lot of insurance companies don’t cover at all. I looked at the statements afterward–without insurance, it would have run me around $850, plus lab costs for cervical cultures. As it was, I paid a $30 copay for each of three visits, plus about $5 on the lab fees.
I’ve been without insurance before, though, and it sucked ass. Just keep your fingers crossed you don’t have any accidents or illnesses in the next six months.
I do. It’s the standard health insurance that is now provided to all graduate assistants at my university.
It sucks. Everything has to be paid for by the student, who then submits paperwork for reimbursement. The entire cost is not reimbursed, just what the insurance company will pay. Health only, no vision or dental.
I spent the year from August 2002-Aug 2003 without health insurance, and yes, it did scare me. I figured that if I was going to have a serious auto accident in the next five years, that’s when it would happen. It didn’t, thank goodness, but it worried me.
Yes, we have Nationwide. For the most part, it sucks. Hell of a high premium, co-pays, deductibles. Every time I take the kids to the doctor it costs me bucks. They even charge an extra $15 for every needle stick! Yes, the insurance company gets that $15 per shot, not the doctor! Stupid.
However, having said that, the policy has no cap on catastrophic injuries or illness, which is why we have it. If the whole world crashes down on us, there is no limit specified in the policy as to how much they’ll pay. Sure, I know that lots of things could happen and no insurance company really wants to pay out big. But I don’t want a policy where I know that after $1 million, or two, they will say “it’s been fun, see ya.”
For one adult male aged 34, one adult female aged 36 and two kids ages 2 & 4, it costs about $550 per month, plus a $250 deductible per person per year, plus $30 co-pay for office visits, plus an insane extra deductible for pregnancy/delivery, etc. You know the song, sing along…
Yup. As an employee of the state government, I get a real good coverage plan. We are paying more for it these days in the way of paycheck deductions, copays and drug payments, but it’s still better than 90% of the plans out there. It damn well better be, given the pay disparity between the private and the public sector.
I have Kaiser HMO coverage through work.
It’s good in some ways, not good in others.
Good: Most every physical ailment is covered with a very low co-pay. Perscriptions are covered through my rider with a $5 co pay. My premiums are very low. I can get in to see one of their physicians quickly. They cover almost all preventative care. I don’t have to see my primary care physician before seeing the OB/GYN or some other specialties (no need to take your pants off twice).
Bad: You can’t pick your physician or your specialist (not a problem for me because I’ve got good ones, but an issue for others). Mental health coverage is good in theory but not in practice: they say they cover a lot, but they don’t reimburse the providers well, so very few practitioners will accept patients with that coverage or will ask you to pay on your own.
Medica PPO, and it’s very good. I pick whatever doctors I want to see. It covers mental health, vision, and prescriptions. I pay low premiums and my employer picks up most of the bill. The lifetime coverage is unlimited.
The co-pays aren’t the best. $15 for regular office visits. Between $10 and $25 on prescriptions (until I meet the deductible). 20% on hospital services. But I’d rather have these co-pays than higher premiums.
One of the biggest reasons I don’t want to quit my (much hated) job is that I’m afraid of losing my health insurance. I need the good mental health benefits. Although, if I quit my job, my mental health might get a lot better…
I chose Care Choices HMO out of the 4 or 5 available plans at work. I like PPOs but not copays, so it’s an HMO for me.
Our prescription copay just went from $2 to $5 (generic) or $10 (brand) but other than that, I have no copays. Not even on mental health visits, my son receives therapy and I have yet to see a single bill.
In some tiny hidden cubicle in a basement where all the accounting alchemy occurs, they count this as part of our total compensation, at least that’s what they tell us. We aren’t actually charged weekly for it, so it’s all good.
I actually stayed in a crap job for two years, prior to the current one, just because I was afraid to be uninsured. The what-ifs would drive me utterly insane with anxiety, and I’d have no coverage for the asylum and then where would I be?
We have some version of HMO blue.
Office visits are $15 ER $50.
Prescriptions are $10 generic/$20 name brand. I use their mail order pharmacy and get 3 months for a single copay. Considering I take a lot of pills this helps a lot.
I need referrals for specialists but have never had a problem getting them.
I do fear losing our health insurance. I have chronic renal disease so I could have care excluded because of a preexisting condition if I have too large of a lapse in coverage.
I currently have Blue Cross Federal. The co-pays and deductibles are a bit steep, but it covers all kinds of stuff.
I used to have United Health. The co-pays were lower, and had no deductibles, but they liked to play games with denying claims. They went away with the old job…