Insurance costs through employer plan

[Abby Normal]

How much do you pay for dependent care  insurance?  I'm looking at a new employer and they said it's nearly $400/month to add my son on to the plan.  That seems really high. At current employer it's only $250.

[tcu2003]

Mine is more than that - $450 maybe. I'd need to double check, but it's expensive.

[Deleted]

Here, individual coverage is $88/month.  Plus one (spouse or child) is $325/month and Family is $355/month. 

[alabamagal]

It depends on what percentage of the cost is covered by the employer. Probably 0. At my previous employer it was 0 and was about $400 per month for high deductible plan. Since most plans don't charge per kid, it was not as bad for me because I had 3 kids so it was less than I would have for individual coverage. So having 3 kids was a bargain? In the 3 years my kids were on the plan they probably only spent $100 a year or so.

Current employer cost is $50 a month for low deductible plan. One of the many reasons I changed jobs.

[ArchietheDragon]

We have a high deductible plan.  it is $80 per month for individuals, $110 per month for employee + child, $247 per month for employee + family.  

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I pay $235 a month for family coverage. I am not sure what employee + child is.

I know that my employer picks up the lion's share of the costs.   It's over a grand for their share.

[Deleted]

On my plan, individual coverage is almost $140/month. I pay $270/month for family coverage. My "kids" are in their early 20's but I still have them on my health insurance. My deductible is $300/person with a max of $600 for a family. This is the first year a self+1 option was offered, and it's actually a little more expensive (about $15 more/month IIRC) than family coverage.

[zibazinski]

Mine is over $800 a month and I have a 6 k deductible. Plus it covers very little for labs and other tests. So I get to pay through the nose and pray I never need to use it.

[zibazinski]

Oops employer plans. Sorry.

[quince]

Husband's employer covers 90% of the cost for employee, and I believe 50% for family, so to add my son and I to my husband's plan was ~$500.

[Deleted]

Individual is $35. Family (regardless of size) is $300 and will rise by $50 over the next two years for a spousal surcharge. They can (and probably will) raise the basic amount; the spousal surcharge, along with a tobacco surcharge, is in addition to any premiums.

It is still a bargain for us because it allows DH to be primary on my plan rather than using a Medicare supplement.

[milee]

Feb 22, 2016 17:28:26 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Oops employer plans. Sorry.

It's still a valid data point. 

Employer plans still have to be paid by somebody. Often if an employer pays a larger amount for insurance benefits, that means less money available for salary.  And the opposite is true. We don't provide company health insurance but pay our employees quite a bit above prevailing market wages so they can buy their own.

The "hidden" cost of health insurance - because employers pay for so much of it - is one of the biggest reasons it makes sense to separate employment from health insurance from a public policy standpoint.  It's one more way that we keep people ignorant about how much their healthcare actually costs. When people are ignorant of the costs and not responsible for large chunks of the costs, they have no incentive to make good choices and the insurers and healthcare providers have less of an incentive to publish cost data to allow people to make good choices.

[emma1420]

To add dependants onto my insurance is $650 per dependent.  My employer basically doesn't cover any dependants.  I pay $130 a month and my employer picks up 75% of the premium.

[Deleted]

Feb 22, 2016 17:41:38 GMT -5 milee said:

Feb 22, 2016 17:28:26 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Oops employer plans. Sorry.

It's still a valid data point. 

Employer plans still have to be paid by somebody. Often if an employer pays a larger amount for insurance benefits, that means less money available for salary.  And the opposite is true. We don't provide company health insurance but pay our employees quite a bit above prevailing market wages so they can buy their own.

The "hidden" cost of health insurance - because employers pay for so much of it - is one of the biggest reasons it makes sense to separate employment from health insurance from a public policy standpoint.  It's one more way that we keep people ignorant about how much their healthcare actually costs. When people are ignorant of the costs and not responsible for large chunks of the costs, they have no incentive to make good choices and the insurers and healthcare providers have less of an incentive to publish cost data to allow people to make good choices.

I know people keep making this argument that employers will pay more if health care is detached from salary. 

I don't think it will happen that way.  The State of Alabama pays almost $1000 a month toward my insurance.  They also pay that much toward the insurance of the minimum wage cafeteria worker and bus driver.  They might (I doubt it) add that to my salary if they eliminated it.  It would be a 20% raise.  There is no way that they are going to double the salary of the cafeteria worker (remember they only work 10 months a year for six hours a day) or the bus driver (same 10 months a year for four hours a day).  What is ironic is that if they did double it, they would still be the working poor.  A teacher's aide earns $14,000 a year.  If it became $26,000 because they got the insurance allotment as salary, it is doubtful that they would be able financially to spend it on private insurance.

It's ok.  They can go on Medicaid even though they work.  You and I can pay any minimum wage worker's health care bill (sort of like we already do with Walmart) if employers/employees don't choose to.

It's a screwed up system either way.  But I don't think eliminating the employer's part is necessarily the answer.

[bean29]

You also need to look at the deductible. My employer plan is expensive. It is probably $1400/month for the family (4). It used to cover me and I had to pay 100% for everyone else, they changed it about a year ago to cover the whole family at no cost to me.

Our deductible is $2600 but that is a family deductible - once it is met it pays 100%.  That is a positive to our plan.  I also like the high deductible HSA savings option (trying to save extra $$ here for retirement- tax free in and out).  There is an additional deductible for prescriptions - maybe another 1,000.  Once the second prescription deductible is met you get prescriptions cheaper but they still are not "free". 

If their insurance cost to you is more expensive, you negotiate for a higher salary.  I fought for the change to our plan I did a lot of research on how much the average employer was paying.  The article I had in my drawer was from Aug 3, 2012 and says the firms surveyed pay 75% of health premium.  It says health benefit costs "average" $5,750-5,999 for single coverage and $15,000-15,999 for family coverage.  The older you are the higher your premium is, if you are female, childbearing age your premium is probably about $700-750/month.  My article (Jsonline.com says employee's share of premium averages 20-25% of the total cost).  The article notes that larger employers are more successful at controlling the premium cost.

[TheHaitian]

Feb 22, 2016 16:39:46 GMT -5 Abby Normal said:

How much do you pay for dependent care  insurance?  I'm looking at a new employer and they said it's nearly $400/month to add my son on to the plan.  That seems really high. At current employer it's only $250.

I had the same sticker shock when I went from my previous employer to my wife plan...

It is $400/month and I was used to paying $180/month after health discounts/incentives (but actual price was probably closer to yours got a $23/week discount for participating in the different health challenges/surveys/incentives/annual checkups etc).

I was price shocked to the heavens and back.... Currently looking at my new employer plan and we might switch again down the road after we have a kid!

[kittensaver]

Wow - you guys are lucky!

At my work, Employee + 1 is $1,165 per month. The employee portion is slightly less than half of that, and is covered at 100%.

I pay $597 per month for DH.

It's an HMO with no deductibles, a $20 copay for office visits and most routine tests/treatments, $10 for generic Rx's and 100% coverage for hospitalization.

I can't even get something cheaper because under ACA, my employer's plan is deemed "credible coverage," meaning we don't qualify for any help by going outside the employer's plan (and we wouldn't get any financial help anyway because of our combined incomes).

First world problems, I know. It's expensive but it also has very generous coverage and I'm grateful we have it.

[Apple]

For me, it's $231/paycheck (so about $500/month) for both my son and I, for BCBS (there were other options, but they are basically worthless since we don't have those doctors in our town).  If I were paying for just me, it would be around $100/paycheck (so $216/month).  So, I pay around $280/month to have him on my insurance.

[steph08]

I have no idea. I am currently on the highest plan and it costs me $130/month. When DH and I were on the medium plan, it was $160/month for both of us. I think a family plan is about $500/month.

Thank god DH works for the state. The kids are free on his insurance and he pays 1.5% of his salary for insurance. It is 3% if you do not participate in the annual health screening.

[wvugurl26]

Mine is $216/month for single.

Pink I thought the point of single plus one was to be cheaper than family coverage. I know our premiums are different than yours though. I'll have to check tomorrow.

I now have a $250 deductible and $2500 max out of pocket. Last year was $214/month, no deductible and $1900 max out of pocket. Open access HMO, no referrals necessary, $25 PCP, $35 specialists, $100 ER copay waived if admitted, $0 generic drugs, $35 tier one generics, $65 non preferred generics and $150 for self injectibles including epi pens. The lovely self injectibles tier came into existence after they hired CVS Caremark as their PBM. Nothing would please me more than to nail CVS to the wall for their multiple shady business practices.

I've hit the out of pocket maximum by November the last three years. If I can stay out of physical therapy and away from operating rooms this year, I might not hit it.

[resolution]

Mine was $50 per month as a single but it went up to $125 per month when I added my husband. My employer's portion is around $1200 per month. Absolutely nothing has changed in the last 5 years since the ACA went into effect because it is a grandfathered plan and they are afraid to lose that status. We don't have any deductibles and there is no max out of pocket limit, instead we pay co-pays based on whatever services are used.

[lisamomof4]

$293 a week, add in cost to cover deductible and it's $487 a week...so a hair over 2k a month, that's with a 6k individual deductible and a 10k family one. however for just DH by himself it's $9 a week....

[weltschmerz]

Feb 22, 2016 16:39:46 GMT -5 Abby Normal said:

How much do you pay for dependent care  insurance?  I'm looking at a new employer and they said it's nearly $400/month to add my son on to the plan.  That seems really high. At current employer it's only $250.

Nothing.

 Everyone is covered, all the time, and you don't have to stay chained to a job you dislike just because of the insurance coverage.

No deductibles.

[Apple]

Feb 22, 2016 23:32:13 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

Mine is $216/month for single.

Pink I thought the point of single plus one was to be cheaper than family coverage. I know our premiums are different than yours though. I'll have to check tomorrow.

I now have a $250 deductible and $2500 max out of pocket. Last year was $214/month, no deductible and $1900 max out of pocket. Open access HMO, no referrals necessary, $25 PCP, $35 specialists, $100 ER copay waived if admitted, $0 generic drugs, $35 tier one generics, $65 non preferred generics and $150 for self injectibles including epi pens. The lovely self injectibles tier came into existence after they hired CVS Caremark as their PBM. Nothing would please me more than to nail CVS to the wall for their multiple shady business practices.

I've hit the out of pocket maximum by November the last three years. If I can stay out of physical therapy and away from operating rooms this year, I might not hit it.

I should be, but depends on the plan/provider.  Mine reduced my payment by like $7/paycheck.  While I was checking the one I use, I also looked at others.  For some, the +one was more expensive for the employee, but cheaper for the government.  I thought that was a little crazy, and on those plans, you'd be better off sticking with family than "dropping" to self + one.

[Deleted]

When people say "no deductibles" on here, do they really mean that? I have "no deductibles" but rather co-pays on office visits, outpatient procedures, etc.

It's semantics, but I pay 20% when using major medical until it hits the maximum.  That's primarily hospital care, and I haven't done anything like that in 20 years or more so I don't remember that maximum.  There is also a family maximum.  It doesn't come into play with DH because Medicare is picking up that 20% as secondary.

Anyway, I don't think of our insurance as "no deductible" even though the correct term is "co-pay."  It doesn't pay 100% of anything. 

[resolution]

Feb 23, 2016 6:44:17 GMT -5 @bamafan1954 said:

When people say "no deductibles" on here, do they really mean that? I have "no deductibles" but rather co-pays on office visits, outpatient procedures, etc.

It's semantics, but I pay 20% when using major medical until it hits the maximum.  That's primarily hospital care, and I haven't done anything like that in 20 years or more so I don't remember that maximum.  There is also a family maximum.  It doesn't come into play with DH because Medicare is picking up that 20% as secondary.

Anyway, I don't think of our insurance as "no deductible" even though the correct term is "co-pay."  It doesn't pay 100% of anything. 

I have no deductibles and I pay co-pays. I do think of it as no deductible, because it doesn't matter how much I pay, the co-pays will never be waived.  However they are not set as a percentage or anything like that. For example, if I am admitted to the hospital, I will pay $150 for the whole hospital stay. If I keep getting admitted and then released, I will pay $150 each time. There is no point at which I have paid enough to waive the $150.

[wvugurl26]

I do have copays but that is all I'm responsible for. That is what i meant by no deductible. It is my understanding that a lot of plans have copays and a deductible they must meet before the plan pays for anything besides the mandatory preventative care under ACA. I think with the national BCBS plan offered to us federal employees you pay 20% of everything until you hit out of pocket maximum.

In my particular plan I pay $108.40 every two weeks. Self plus one is $182.51 and family is $276. The employer shares are $213.37, $461.02 and $488.50. I have seen plans though where the employee part was way more than the employer part. I think it was an Aetna plan maybe? I also thought postal premiums were different but they are the same under my plan anyway.

[wvugurl26]

Feb 23, 2016 7:19:41 GMT -5 resolution said:

Feb 23, 2016 6:44:17 GMT -5 @bamafan1954 said:

When people say "no deductibles" on here, do they really mean that? I have "no deductibles" but rather co-pays on office visits, outpatient procedures, etc.

It's semantics, but I pay 20% when using major medical until it hits the maximum.  That's primarily hospital care, and I haven't done anything like that in 20 years or more so I don't remember that maximum.  There is also a family maximum.  It doesn't come into play with DH because Medicare is picking up that 20% as secondary.

Anyway, I don't think of our insurance as "no deductible" even though the correct term is "co-pay."  It doesn't pay 100% of anything. 

I have no deductibles and I pay co-pays. I do think of it as no deductible, because it doesn't matter how much I pay, the co-pays will never be waived.  However they are not set as a percentage or anything like that. For example, if I am admitted to the hospital, I will pay $150 for the whole hospital stay. If I keep getting admitted and then released, I will pay $150 each time. There is no point at which I have paid enough to waive the $150.

No maximum out of pocket? I have that on my plan and after that my costs are zero. I would have normally owed $200 for my hospital stay and surgery last year. I owed $48 because that charge pushed me over my maximum for the year.

[resolution]

There is no max out of pocket. It is a grandfathered plan, so it isn't subject to the ACA regulations. However the hospital stay at $150 is the highest co-pay so I am not sure how much it would be possible to build up in a year.

[Cookies Galore]

I pay $223/month for myself and spouse. No deductible, $15 copays for office visits, $25 ED, waived if admitted to hospital.