How are you guys handling health insurance?

[Super 8]

Health, dental, and all that?

Thanks.

[Steel Horse Cowboy]

I don't have any and haven't for 7yrs now. I am single w/no kids tho so it's a lot easier. I only went to the doc once last year and not at all the few years prior. I do however have asthma and my 1 script costs me $225 every two months, but everywhere I spoke with was about $250 a month, half didnt cover existing conditions too. I'm better off just paying as i go. As for major medical or injury I have OC/AC and that covers mainly anything I will need besides illness.

Just FYI, State Farm has really good rates and good coverage. It just wasn't cost effective for me, but if you got kids, I'd say check it out. Other than that, getting a company job might be your best bet.

[Maniac]

My wifes insurance covers me.

You can look here at rates..

National Association for the Self-Employed

[Mackman]

i went to ibx4you.com. It is BC/BS. I have keystone health plan east. It was 120/month for the 1st 6months now it went up to 131.88. It is a great plan for the price. But maybe cuz I'm only 26 thats why it is cheap. Anyone not having any type of insurance is crazy i think.

[Steel Horse Cowboy]

i went to ibx4you.com. It is BC/BS. I have keystone health plan east. It was 120/month for the 1st 6months now it went up to 131.88. It is a great plan for the price. But maybe cuz I'm only 26 thats why it is cheap. Anyone not having any type of insurance is crazy i think.

Like I said, I don't have insurance so if I get ill with a bad case of the flu or whatever I'm screwed, but if I get hurt or injured my OCC/ACC covers it....... cost wise, I'd be spending $100 a month for noting since most don't cover what a regular major medical would. I looked at the plan you got, which seems good, but a companies Blue Corss program blows it out of the water.
You plan also is MUCH cheaper than what BC/BS offers here in Indiana and Illinois. Location has a lot to do with pricing as well since all the BC/BS are independantly owned.

I called BC/BS and they wanted $475 a month to cover me under the same crap my buddies at the Mill and UPS get for $35 a week. CRAZY!!!

Maybe I can just find one of them nurses everyone talks about and get married..... you know, the one's who wear the high black boots, red stockings and are classified "naughty" LOL

[Maniac]

Anyone not having any type of insurance is crazy i think.

You think correctly , I had open heart surgery in 2001, all together it was $500,000, then I had to have it done over in 2006, same price with inflation added, didn't cost me a dime insurance paid every penny.

[TK THE TRUCKER]

You think correctly , I had open heart surgery in 2001, all together it was $500,000, then I had to have it done over in 2006, same price with inflation added, didn't cost me a dime insurance paid every penny.

Over a million all together ? Sounds like it cost me some money ! At least it went for something good

[Luzon]

I called BC/BS and they wanted $475 a month to cover me under the same crap my buddies at the Mill and UPS get for $35 a week. CRAZY!!!

The cost to "The Mill" and UPS would be somewhere close to the same $475 as BC/BS charges. The difference is that The Mill and UPS is paying the difference for the employee. When one is their own boss they usually have to cover the entire cost themselves. When i got off the road last November I went back into insurance (Life/Health/Disability/etc.) I'm only licensed in FL but the rates aren't THAT different state to state. BC/BS however is very different as they are actually different companies based on the region they're in. Most people down in FL don't care too much for BC/BS but up in your neck of the woods they're one of the better bets for insurance. (As I understand it) I don't write for BC/BS because as I said, they're not the greatest here in FL and they probably have the worst record for keeping rates stable - and supposidly they're a non-profit organization.

Here's one examples - again, this assumes a FL resident. This is from United Healthcare/Golden Rule.

This quote assumes: Male, 40 years old, non smoker.

The plan I'm quoting offers:
$1500 Deductible
$3000 Out of Pocket anual maximum after deductible.
80%/20% (20% of hospital stays and major testing would be your responisibilty up to the $3000 max)
$35 Dr's visits
Tier 1 drugs (generics) $15 copay -
Tier 2 $35 copay
Tier 3 $65 copay (Tier 2-5 requires an annual $200 deductible)

Then there's a whole list of things that are covered, aren't covered, and at what amounts.

This plan would cost $189.03/month $245.94 for a smoker and these prices assume the person has been covered under another plan within the last 60 days. It would be more expensive (not a lot) if there was no previous health coverage.

Hope this helps.

[geeshock]

bare minimum, thats all I can say, if it were just me I'd probably pay as I go like some of the others.

[BanditsCousin]

I have my own as an o/o. $120/mo as a 28 yo single smoker. Decent coverage, max dedcutible is 4000 out of pocket for 2 million max coverage. Good prescription coverage, network, etc. Got it through Blue Croos/Shield. Carrier wants 200 more a montn for siliar coverage, so i went on my own. Went to an online site for plans and comparisons. Then dealt with Blue Cross direct. Everypnes situation is different.

Skipped the dental. I try to do 6 month cleaning and checkups for about 75 a pop. I don't think dental is worth it. Even my wisdom teeth with outpatient surgery was 1300. Keep up on the teeth!

No life insurance yet. I don't wanna die yet. Neither sidew would take me lol.

[Luzon]

No life insurance yet. I don't wanna die yet. Neither sidew would take me lol.

I hear that. Most young people don't want to even think about life insurance - hell, no one does really. Here's something to consider though. When one buys life insurance at a young age, they're accomplishing a couple things.

1. They're insuring their insurability. If, at age 28 for example you bought a $250k 30 year term policy the price for a smoker would be $59/month. Now, you've got that in place and then somewhere down the road if something happened health wise, you could always convert that to a permanent policy without having to reapply and without showing any medical documentation. The new permanent policy would be priced based only on your age at the time of conversion.

2. You would lock in rates as a 28 year old. Once you've got a policy the rates never change.

If you know you will NEVER get married and NEVER have kids, then you probably don't need any life insurance. If, on the other hand, you decide to get married in say, 10 years, and then get life insurance then that same policy as a smoker would cost $99/month.

That's my 2 cents, and I'm sticking to it.

[Copperhead]

I have Blue Cross / Blue Shield, $5 million policy tied to a Health Savings Account. $356 a month. Premiums and H.S.A. contributions tax deductable. Me and wife both in our 50's, I smoke, She takes thyroid medication. What doesn't get used in the H.S.A. in the year, rolls over and gains interest. We contribute max allowable to H.S.A and just let the money grow much like a I.R.A or 401K. Can use it for all out of pocket medical expenses with no taxation, and at age 65, we can use the money for whatever we want and make withdrawals from it like a 401K plan with only normal income tax on withdrawal money not used for medical. Best of both worlds.

[wrongwayTommy]

I have health insurance for 309 a month and I can`t remember who it is with,do they cover memory loss?

[GMAN]

I checked some plans online. I was amazed at how much difference there was in premiums. For the most part, health insurance is very expensive, especially when you get a little older. For the most part the older we are the greater the likelihood that we will be ill.

[Steel Horse Cowboy]

This quote assumes: Male, 40 years old, non smoker.

The plan I'm quoting offers:
$1500 Deductible.

That right there is more than I spend in 1 year on my meds and doctor visits...... hence why I pay as I go. But like I said, if I get something major I'm screwed....... but I will just file disability and hope Obama see's me fit to sit on my butt for the rest of my life. Luckily I am still 1/5th Cherokee so maybe they would take pity on me, I know Purdue did when I went to college LOL

[Super 8]

I have Blue Cross / Blue Shield, $5 million policy tied to a Health Savings Account. $356 a month. Premiums and H.S.A. contributions tax deductable. Me and wife both in our 50's, I smoke, She takes thyroid medication. What doesn't get used in the H.S.A. in the year, rolls over and gains interest. We contribute max allowable to H.S.A and just let the money grow much like a I.R.A or 401K. Can use it for all out of pocket medical expenses with no taxation, and at age 65, we can use the money for whatever we want and make withdrawals from it like a 401K plan with only normal income tax on withdrawal money not used for medical. Best of both worlds.

THIS is something I'm interested in and want to learn more about. Does anyone else use HSA's? Basically a low cost hi-deductible insurance plan for any major stuff and a tax-free savings account for the regular stuff. I'm having a hard time seeing a downside to this. Who else uses it?

I've never paid much attention health insurance in the past. I found it confusing, and just paid for whatever my employer offered. But now as I'm transitioning to an O/O, I gotta learn more.

[GMAN]

It is my understanding that the new health insurance bill eliminated the health savings accounts. Who knows what will happen when the dust settles. The bill was ruled unconstitutional by 2 state supreme courts, yet Obama is moving full throttle ahead as if nothing has changed.

[Heavy Duty]

That right there is more than I spend in 1 year on my meds and doctor visits...... hence why I pay as I go. But like I said, if I get something major I'm screwed....... but I will just file disability and hope Obama see's me fit to sit on my butt for the rest of my life. Luckily I am still 1/5th Cherokee so maybe they would take pity on me, I know Purdue did when I went to college LOL

Your not screwed, you still get treated and us taxpayers that are still working get to pay for your care.

[Super 8]

It is my understanding that the new health insurance bill eliminated the health savings accounts.

If that's the case I sure haven't seen it. Actually, from the articles I've read they're growing in popularity.

Who knows what will happen when the dust settles. The bill was ruled unconstitutional by 2 state supreme courts, yet Obama is moving full throttle ahead as if nothing has changed.

The only aspect that has been deemed unconstitutional was the mandatory coverage. States can still opt out if they so choose, so I'm not sure how unconstitutional it really is. In any case, it's hardly a reason to scrap the entire bill. Had we gotten a public option we wouldn't even be having this discussion.
I'm not here to debate healthcare reform though, I'm just curious how the self-employed are handling their coverage....or lack thereof.

[GMAN]

Even if there was a public option it would still have been ruled unconstitutional due to the mandatory participation. It would also create yet another huge government bureaucracy. There is a lot more in this bill than health care. Much of what is in the bill has nothing to do with health care. This is a health insurance bill, not a health care bill. But, there is much more to it than health insurance. You should read it sometime.