My husband and I are considering dropping our health insurance. The company is going to a non-HMO. It costs us $3100/year for the two of us to be insured, and there’s a co-pay of 20% and a $1000 deductible. We don’t have children, and in fact, I’ve had a tubal ligation. We’re in our early thirties, and we make good money. The insurance caps at a lifetime amount of $100,000, so something like cancer wouldn’t be covered for long anyway.
We’re both rather frustrated that our costs keep going up, but what we get in return keeps going down.
I might consider dropping that health insurance, but I don’t think I’d want to be completely without coverage. Some companies (like Blue Cross, I believe) will sell health insurance to individuals; you may be able to get a cheaper plan that way.
I had no health insurance for the first 5 years after college, because I did temp/contract work that never included those kinds of benefits and I couldn’t afford individual coverage. I’m a relatively healthy person, so it worked out fine, but I shudder to think of what might have happened had I gotten seriously ill during that period. It was less of a gamble when I was in my early 20s, but now that I’m facing my mid-30s I don’t think I’d want to be without some kind of basic coverage.
My advice would be to find another insurance company, but do not go without insurance. I’m young and in good health, too, but I caught pneumonia last year and ended up with a $45,000 hospital stay. Thank God for Blue Cross! Even if you don’t get sick, people have accidents all the time. One minute you’re walking down the stairs, and the next you’re in the OR having your broken leg fixed. It really only takes one incident to ruin you, financially.
You guys have given me excellent advice. In fact, I’m now searching online sites for quotes. I think I’m finding some that may just do the trick. Thanks much! And you’re right, Nightingale, about one serious accident doing you in. My mom’s car accident a few years ago came to about $100K. My parents only had to come up with about 10% of that.
Health insurance costs have risen significantly here too in recent years, but I’d always consider it a last resort letting my insurance lapse. It may be expensive, but the peace of mind is worth it.
… yet I fell while snowboarding, broke my arm, and was relatively lucky to only end up with $5000 of charges when it was all done. I am SO glad I didn’t drop my insurance, which covered almost all of that.
My friend’s roomate dislocated her knee and wound up being deep in debt from the cost of all the treatment/physical therapy she had to go through. It will be years before she pays it all off, and her credit is ruined.
Get the health insurance. Even if you are living on breadcrumbs, at least you have some redundancy if one of you is sick and unable to work. Better to pay now than to pay later, big time.
A major medical plan would be better than no insurance. You can get quotes for the same (similar at least) deductible you’d be paying up front with the current plan. If you don’t get sick/injured, you didn’t spend the money up to that amount, but if you do get sick/injured, you’re covered over that amount.
A $100,000 lifetime limit is nothing. What a crummy policy. There are DRUGS out there which can add up to that kind of money in a few years, let alone major surgery.
Glad you’ve already decided to stay insured, DeadlyAccurate.
I’ve read that one of the most common reasons people are forced to file for bankruptcy is unexpected catastrophic medical bills.
You’ll also want to consider that it will become harder to get medical insurance later when you’ll be more likely to need it. If you stay insured continuously, you’re more likely to be able to retain insurance and possibly get better rates than if you dropped it and tried to pick up insurance later in life.