midjd
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Post by midjd on Nov 2, 2015 13:45:29 GMT -5
Anyone else going through Open Enrollment now? Have they announced your new health insurance rates? I did the Big Brother health assessment stuff so I could qualify for the "preferred" HDHP plan in 2016... my rate only went up $5/week instead of $30/week. Other than that, pretty boring this year. I'm doing ~$4K to the HSA (employer kicks in the rest to max) and $5K to dependent care FSA. I recently found out that once I hit my deductible, I can use the money in my dental/vision FSA on regular medical expenses, which is nice -- but after scrambling to spend all the money this year, I don't think I'm going to contribute much (if anything) for 2016. How about you guys?
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yogiii
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Post by yogiii on Nov 2, 2015 13:47:56 GMT -5
I'm doing and HSA for the 2nd year and also decided against a separate dental/vision FSA. HSA premium is up about $300 for the year from last year.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Nov 2, 2015 13:50:40 GMT -5
Yeah, oddly enough I just finished doing the online enrollment stuff so my immediate reaction to your title was "yes and it sucks!"
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2015 13:51:30 GMT -5
Nothing yet but I'm anxiously awaiting. I'm guessing it won't be for at least a couple weeks yet though. Every year I get all nervous/hopeful about it and every year it's pretty much unchanged.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Nov 2, 2015 14:00:47 GMT -5
Nothing yet but I'm anxiously awaiting. I'm guessing it won't be for at least a couple weeks yet though. Every year I get all nervous/hopeful about it and every year it's pretty much unchanged. Same here. They made a huge deal about the wellness program saving us all a ton of money, but IMO it was just an excuse to jack up the rates on everyone who didn't participate.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Nov 2, 2015 14:14:51 GMT -5
Open enrollment hasn't started yet - but Flu Shots and the "wellness program" thingy that nets you $10 a month deduction on the cost of your insurance happened.
I'll be signing up and contributing the full $3350 for a second year in the HDHP (I don't think there will be any employer contribution this year) and I'll be contributing atleast 1K to the FSA for vision and I'll be review the dental insurance costs/coverage. it looks like I'll finally be paying more for my 2 times a year dental cleanings/xrays (My dentist retired and I had to shop around...) If I don't take the dental insurance I'll just put another $600 into the FSA to cover my estimated dental expenses.
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saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Nov 2, 2015 14:15:50 GMT -5
We finished ours last week - copays for PCP and specialists have gone up by 5$, but no other increases for the regular PPO plan.
Company has suspended HSA contributions starting this year, so people who were under the HSA plan are not happy.
Kaiser has increased premiums again and is almost close to the PPO plan - I wonder why people have Kaiser, since they are locked to the doctors and the facility.
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Nov 2, 2015 14:16:18 GMT -5
Can't find out anything until it officially opens up on Wednesday and DH can login. Then we have one week to signup. Can't they just let us have a peek at the options beforehand?
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flamingo
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Post by flamingo on Nov 2, 2015 14:16:32 GMT -5
Our open enrollment started today. Everything stayed the same (no rise in premiums, not changes in plan benefits, etc). Sooo, pretty easy/boring for me. Just logging in and clicking "Acknowledge" so they know I saw the plethora of emails they sent. LOL
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2015 14:19:13 GMT -5
The Feds finally have a plus one option so no more couples paying the family rate.
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Nov 2, 2015 14:44:25 GMT -5
We're self insured and I have some knowledge of what's going on in our plan. We had several catastrophic claims last year that pretty much wiped out all projections and blew the heath insurance budget out of the water.
So this year the company is increasing the employee co-pays by 10%, upping the maximum OOP by $1500 per family, and instituting a step program for prescriptions (which should have been done already IMHO). We skew toward older employees who are not participating in wellness initiatives (why should they? It's work and they will pay the same premium regardless of if they take action to reduce overall costs or not). In many ways I see us as a micro-cosim for the national, supplemented plans.
We need to tie premiums into measurable action. But that would be met with a lot of resistance so for now it's not happening.
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Nov 2, 2015 14:51:38 GMT -5
Our PPO premium stayed the same, but copays and OOP limits doubled. It was either that or get taxed under the ACA.
Our HDHP plan got much sweeter..so we're trying that this year. We're in a good spot: done with kids, the kids are old enough that they don't need to see the dr every 3 months...we'll see how it works out.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2015 14:52:24 GMT -5
Nothing yet but I'm anxiously awaiting. I'm guessing it won't be for at least a couple weeks yet though. Every year I get all nervous/hopeful about it and every year it's pretty much unchanged. Same here. They made a huge deal about the wellness program saving us all a ton of money, but IMO it was just an excuse to jack up the rates on everyone who didn't participate. I agree with this. If you don't participate in the wellness program, they increase your rate $50 a month. If your spouse doesn't participate, it is another $50. Our Open Enrollment is in August since our plan year is Oct. 1 - Sept. 30. Insurance premiums didn't go up, but they put a surcharge on spouses in addition to the family premium. They are trying to drive spouses back to their own company's insurance. I put in $175 a month into the Flex account, and we almost always run out. It's the joy of being older.
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on Nov 2, 2015 14:56:04 GMT -5
First open enrollment with new company. Vision got separated out instead of being bundled and will cost me about $15 a month. Dental is going up about $1 a month and medical is going up about $25 a month. After my $200 to $300 a month increases I absorbed in the previous 5 years, I can handle that.
Unfortunately the escrow on my mortgage went up $65 a month starting next month as well. The $100 monthly hit to our budget is a little harder to stomach.
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Ombud
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Post by Ombud on Nov 2, 2015 14:57:07 GMT -5
Open enrollment @ work + pension. Each is going up but not by alot. I have too much coverage but if I drop the pension one I can't get it back later
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Nov 2, 2015 14:57:32 GMT -5
Open enrollment starts Monday, so we'll get the email with premium info on Friday. My employer is pretty good about keeping costs down for employees, so I don't fret it. We have a PPO and dental, so really nothing to change around from year to year.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2015 15:01:02 GMT -5
Same here. They made a huge deal about the wellness program saving us all a ton of money, but IMO it was just an excuse to jack up the rates on everyone who didn't participate. My last employer had a wellness program. If you racked up enough brownie points to be "engaged", your contribution for the premium was cut in half, from $360/month to $180/month. We managed it through Big Brother blood tests, my workouts (recorded through a Big Brother heart monitor and/or FitBit), and going through on-line courses in nutrition, etc. Our employer claimed that healthcare costs for "engaged" employees was less on average than for the others, but from what I could tell, it was a flawed comparison. Wouldn't the non-engaged group include people with chronic health problems, people who were overweight and just couldn't lose the excess, people who refuse to give up smoking? They offered mucho points for non-smokers to quite and overweight people to lose, but not everyone would take them up on it. So, the "non-engaged" group would be a less healthy portion of the population to begin with, and the "engaged" group would include people like me, where it's just preaching to the choir. Anyway, to answer the OP- I have a private plan with Coventry. They sent me a letter saying that my current plan won't be available next year but sent a link to a plan I "might like". I'm glad I checked. It had ZERO coverage out-of-network. I have a friend who's an agent getting me quotes from BCBS for coverage similar to what I have now and it looks like I'll get an increase, which is par for the course. I'll max out my HSA again in 2016. Best deal in town. Besides, it's in Vanguard Wellington, which has outperformed just about everything else I own.
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Ombud
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Post by Ombud on Nov 2, 2015 15:09:29 GMT -5
Open enrollment @ work + pension. Each is going up but not by alot. I have too much coverage but if I drop the pension one I can't get it back later OOPS!! open enrollment thru pension closed Saturday. Wasn't changing anyway
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lynnerself
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Post by lynnerself on Nov 2, 2015 15:49:18 GMT -5
We were pleased that our insurance only went up about $15 month. However, since we are on the plan as retirees and not current employees, for some reason we do not get to do the "Health Assessment" stuff that get's you a discount.
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justme
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Post by justme on Nov 2, 2015 15:58:50 GMT -5
In the middle of it now. The only big change is the family deductible on the HSA is the same as single without them getting a larger premium increase. Blah. I mean to post the info here to get opinions, but I think I'm going to be stuck with the HRA again this year.
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Nov 2, 2015 16:04:00 GMT -5
mine opens today. I just started looking through the summary of what's changing, and noticed a couple huge ones (that don't apply to me, but still) - transgender reassignment surgery, infertility procedures, and weight loss/diet drugs will now be covered. that's a lot of new coverage, and hopefully it benefits those who need it! I was planning to check out the exchanges during this open enrollment period before signing on to the company plans, but I'm not sure that's going to end up happening this week or next. OE closes on the 13th. ETA: so there are no changes to employee contributions, deductibles, co-pays or co-insurance. my coverages are for just myself, and the pre-tax deductions amount to just under $60/pay period. there's another $1 and change post-tax that goes toward an additional 1x annual salary coverage for life insurance as well. my deductible is $275 for in-network, $550 for out-of-network with an annual cap of $2500 in-network/$5050 out-of-network. I'm generally a pretty healthy person, so this works for me. my Rx coverage is interesting though. it says I have a retail cost of $10 for generic Rx's. I take one maintenance med as needed, and the only time I've had it filled since starting work here, my cost was $1 and change. I think I'll just stick with this for now. I have enough other shit going on right now that I don't need to be confusing things with checking out the exchange.
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dannylion
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Post by dannylion on Nov 2, 2015 18:41:50 GMT -5
I've decided to switch from the BCBS FEHB plan I'm in now to the new Aetna FEHB plan for people on Medicare. It almost sounds too good to be true as it seems I will be saving a lot of money on premiums, copays, and meds. I suspect that I should enjoy it while I can because I would not be surprised to see the premiums go up a lot next year. In any event, I was thrilled to find this option as my Medicare premiums could be $300+ per month next year unless Congress does something to fix the anomaly that sticks folks not on SS with the whole burden of increased Medicare costs.
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Nov 2, 2015 19:15:30 GMT -5
My open enrollment started last week and my plan stayed the same. There were no premium or copay changes for my EPO option. The PPO plan premium decreased by $50 per month, but it is still $100 more than the EPO, so I am sticking with my current plan.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Nov 2, 2015 19:39:04 GMT -5
I've decided to switch from the BCBS FEHB plan I'm in now to the new Aetna FEHB plan for people on Medicare. It almost sounds too good to be true as it seems I will be saving a lot of money on premiums, copays, and meds. I suspect that I should enjoy it while I can because I would not be surprised to see the premiums go up a lot next year. In any event, I was thrilled to find this option as my Medicare premiums could be $300+ per month next year unless Congress does something to fix the anomaly that sticks folks not on SS with the whole burden of increased Medicare costs. I turn 65 next year and will be enrolling in Medicare Part B and realized I will have to eat a cost like that and maybe get no increase in my federal pension. This year, I am sticking with BCBS.
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dannylion
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Post by dannylion on Nov 2, 2015 20:02:58 GMT -5
I've decided to switch from the BCBS FEHB plan I'm in now to the new Aetna FEHB plan for people on Medicare. It almost sounds too good to be true as it seems I will be saving a lot of money on premiums, copays, and meds. I suspect that I should enjoy it while I can because I would not be surprised to see the premiums go up a lot next year. In any event, I was thrilled to find this option as my Medicare premiums could be $300+ per month next year unless Congress does something to fix the anomaly that sticks folks not on SS with the whole burden of increased Medicare costs. I turn 65 next year and will be enrolling in Medicare Part B and realized I will have to eat a cost like that and maybe get no increase in my federal pension. This year, I am sticking with BCBS. Yeah, I'm already paying $208-something for Medicare Part B, but unless Congress does something (figure the odds), it could increase to over $300. The savings from the Aetna plan will almost cover the increase, so it's actually a pretty good deal.
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whoisjohngalt
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Post by whoisjohngalt on Nov 2, 2015 20:06:36 GMT -5
Yep.
Between our house getting a HUGE re-assessment increase, property tax rate going up, our home owners insurance going up and health insurance going up - I am pretty sure my children won't be eating next year
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Nov 2, 2015 20:18:45 GMT -5
Yep. Between our house getting a HUGE re-assessment increase, property tax rate going up, our home owners insurance going up and health insurance going up - I am pretty sure my children won't be eating next yearLOL. This has a side benefit that should make up for the property tax rate increase: kids won't grow so they won't need new clothes
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cktc
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Post by cktc on Nov 3, 2015 12:00:02 GMT -5
DH's company is dropping the PPO in 2017, and upping the rate $125/month for 2016. They are also dropping the match on the HDHP from 50% in 2015 to $1000 in 2016. I'm expecting in March and not too pleased. Silver-lining, DH is more willing to look into signing up for Tricare now. He didn't think it was worth the hassle for the savings last year, but now it will be about $3000k cheaper.
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on Nov 3, 2015 12:54:37 GMT -5
My signup ended last week. We have choice between PPO and HDHP and the company is trying hard to get everyone to go to HDHP, giving $1200 to the HSA for family. It is a good option if you are healthy. But we have 2 issues that make us stay in the PPO, my husband has type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure. His diabetes meds are not on the HDHP "preventative" list so would not be covered until he met deductable, and they are over $300/month vs $50 every 3 months on PPO. Also he usually has 2-3 doctor visits per year for various issues. Those make the PPO better for us. Costs went up ~$10 per month from this year, but life insurance rates went down, so overall pretty close.
The other issue I have with HDHP is that I have 3 kids on my plan and 2 are not my dependents (23 and 24 years old). It costs me $0 extra to have them on my plan since I have to have family coverage for the youngest. They could each get insurance through their jobs but that would cost them $100+ per month. If I have HDHP I don't think I can use HSA funds for them since they are not by dependents per IRS. Although unlikely, if they had a medical issue without HSA they could have a big bill. With PPO they would pay $300 deductible plus 10%.
Overall I am very happy with my plan.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Nov 3, 2015 13:18:28 GMT -5
My HDHP costs $45/biweekly but has a $5K deductible and $8K out of pocket max, the latter of which we have unfortunately hit every year since 2012. If we had a year with no surgeries or hospitalizations it would be a good deal, but I feel like we've spent a lot of money. It annoys me that you're not allowed to put enough in your HSA to cover your maximum out of pocket cost, especially when the threshold for deducting medical expenses is so high. I just looked at the PPO to see if it would have cost us less over the last few years. The biweekly family premium with the non-smoking agreement is $836. No thanks...
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