Here goes, My wife and I, and for the last four months our son, have been covered under her insurance through her employer. She recently became a college girl, putting me in the market for a family policy. I have a few questions. First can I purchase an individual policy for myself and another policy for her and the baby? If so I plan to get a high deductible super simple plan for myself, as I only seek medical attention if the blood is squirting out. Oozing blood is just not that big of a deal. I would also get a more traditional plan for the misses and baby. For their plan what should I look for? I'm not terribly concerned with the level of the deductible, just wondering if there is a overall best deal. Everyone is completely healthy, at the moment. If I cannot purchase two plans for one family, is there a general idea what type of plan is the best overall deal? Again not worried about deductible. Just want to ensure along with good coverage, that we are buying the best overall package in regards to value. Thanks!
You can do 2 plans but it would probably be less cost effective. A family plan with a decent deducible is probably the best route. Are you going to Cobra into your wifes plan or does the college she go to offer a student plan that might be better then you shopping on your own?
You are looking at 400 to 500 a month with a 5k deductible on a 80/20 plug your info in here http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/
My opinion is get a full coverage health plan. If something happens you will have tons of bills and also you may not be able to work. So the savings is being depleted while the earnings stop, not a good situation just to save a couple of hundred dollars a month.
If your family is fairly healthy Just pay for something until 2014, then insurers will no longer be able to deny you based on pre existing conditions. Never pay for insurance again after that. If you get caught not paying for insurance pay the 1000$ fine. If someone gets seriously ill simply sign up for insurance and let the insurance company you hate most pay for it. Pay for your hospital visits for colds and stuff with cash. Problem solved, thx to the government. Hope this helps.
What is the general consensus as to the best combination of deductible/copay/etc.? The determining factor being best value. I dont mind paying a high monthly premium if its the best value, and I do not mind having a high deductible if its has value, but I have looked at several plans and some are obviously out of wack. High deductible and high premiums, with no copay, or high everything and still a co-insurance, things like that make me wonder what is the best deal.
i use an hsa plan through blue cross. 3200 family deductable and everything covered after that. hsa monthly rates are 20% higher than the normal copay plans but i like the certianty of everything covered after the deductable. it is expensive though. i am paying 900 a month for 2 people.
If you live in California, they have a special plan for kids here called "healthy families" You pay between $4 to $15 per child. If I remember right, the maximum income you can have is just over $100,000 and the minimum income is whatever is considered too high to get medi-cal(Californias version of medicaid). But you should re-check that with them as its been about 2 years since I last checked what the requirements were. Its pretty good coverage too. $15 for well checks, $50 emergency room visits, $10 meds. Normally with the same hospital kids insurance would be about $130 to $150 per month.