Private Insurance

[just_sawing]

Since the COmpany that I have been working for 23 years and quite profitable haas decided that it needs more money some lt us cancel retirement benifets.
What do some of you have for private insurance for your families. What pit falls have you seen. If you have a major illness did the insurance cancel you. How much do you have to pay.

[swampy]

I have MY FAULT insurance :D :D. I can not afford health insurance and they will not insure peolpe that dive. To much of a risk with all the snakes and gators around. I do have accident insurance through combined. Ed

[Onthesauk]

Your profile doesn't indicate what state you live in and rates can vary a lot from state to state.  I retired early and had to buy my own insurance for the last five years.  Have a $2,500 deductable and runs just over $200 a month here in Washington.  Rates vary based on age.  Should be fairly easy to do an online search for rates in your own state.

[J_T]

I got mine the same place Swampy does  :D

[Don_Papenburg]

My insurance man told me to buy a new policy every two or three years .  The thinking is that the insurance companies like to get new customers , so the rates are lower .   But if you have a med problem you have to stick with the one you got .   My present company cost me 290 every two months witha $1000 deductable.  I have been dumping them and going with a new company or policy when ever I get over $3000 a year .

[GHRoberts]

We have HSAs.

My wife's business employs me for the purpose of providing an employee and his family health insurance.

Being older we pay about $250/month (total for both) for high deductable health insurance. $3 million each in lifetime benefits. Several thousand in yearly deductable. Considering the tax consequences: the cost of having insurance is only $300/year more than not having insurance.

We get debit cards to access the saving portion of the HSA.

[jrdwyer]

Private health insurance is a real pain to apply for as they comb through your medical history for the last 2-3 years and then call you and record the same questions and your replys. Their goal is to minimize risk and make sure you don't hide anything before they give you a policy. If everyone in this country (including our politicians) had to go through this, there would be a massive revolt. My point is that this process is very different than the group plans most people are familiar with.

Price does vary by state and it also depends on the risk you want to assume. Thankfully our family is healthy, so we went with a 10K deductible. The price for two kids and two adults is about $140/month in Indiana. PPO's are around $400-$600 per month and the best HMO's are around $1000/month through private insurance. This, of course, is assuming that you are healthy. If you have any serious (or maybe not so serious) medical condition, then the price can go much higher and to the point of being not affordable for middle class incomes.

When you pay cash for medical ($80 doctor visit), the philosophy becomes one of avoiding a doctor unless it is critical. And when emergency room visits for the kids are needed, just keep some of the monthly savings around for the $1000 ER bill.

The health care system will eventually have to be reformed in the USA or it will crash. There is way too much waste in the system and very little cost control by the providers or those on group health plans. Sorry about the ranting.