2024 Health Insurance

[okcBob]

Oh there's no doubt that we have the best care on the globe . . . if you can afford it.

Well, ER’s can’t turn you away for no Insurance. If you go to the ER with chest pain & the cath shows blocked RCA that can’t be stented, they have to do the CABG. So, that unfortunately raises costs for everyone else, but you will get the care regardless.
I think the bigger issue is failure to go to a PCP due to being uninsured. For example, People don’t go & end up in the unit on a vent from a big stroke that could have been prevented by going to a PCP for an annual physical & getting a cheap BP pill.

 

[Birdseed]

I retired in 2017, and started Medicare and supplement thru Aetna. Aetna cost about, I am old, 170 a month. In the 6 years of Aetna, it has doubled in price, and Medicare costs whatever the feds charges. Between the two insurances, I do not pay anything Medicare allows. I have had two knee replacements and I had no out of pocket expense. Medicare part D is a joke, another discussion.

 

[OKRuss]

Yep, just got our annual enrollment link today. We've got pretty good coverage, I think, but that's likely because we're self funded. Company paid $2.2B towards health insurance for employees in 2023. However, there are always changes made in the benefit of the insurance company and the one paying most of the costs. This year is no different.

Years ago they removed the Employee + Spouse option(for married with no kids). Now, we pay a higher premium under the Employee + Family plan. Wife has to prove she's ineligible for coverage at her employer or I have to pay a subsidy to the company for her to be on my plan. Luckily, she doesn't log enough hours to be eligible.

Single provider is now United Health Care(UHC). We had to start using them a couple years ago and it hasn't been pleasant. Here's the coverages for 2024 Employee + Family:
On a 70%/30% plan where we pay some costs until meet our deductible
$146.02 per pay period or $292.04/month - includes health, dental, vision
Annual deductible $2350/person or $4800/family
Max Out Of Pocket $4850/person or $9700/family
Company provided HRA with $900 given for 2024
Dental $100 deductible with $200 max out of pocket - preventative is 100%
Vision $10 copay for each visit - lenses/contacts each year, frames every 2 years

Can contribute up to $2500/annually pretax into a Health Spending Account.

 

[Frederick]

I also have oversea friends in Canada (Montreal) and in Germany (Heidelberg) and both have told me that the medical, dental, and eye care is excellent with no cost and very little wait-time to access it. I think that just like in the United States, quality of care and availability can differ a lot depending on where you're at

Everybody hating on government healthcare, rightfully criticizing flaws in certain systems

But German, Australian healthcare is superior to our own for the average person


How much do Germans pay for their healthcare per month? What if their spouse has coverage already? Will they get denied?

Some folks here are so afraid of getting ****ed by the government, they’re willing to overlook the big fat corporate insurance dick they’re sucking. No it’s not the .gov denying you healthcare, it’s the insurance company instead. Except the insurance company is motivated by money

That’s just my opinion tho

 

[JD8]

Everybody hating on government healthcare, rightfully criticizing flaws in certain systems

But German, Australian healthcare is superior to our own for the average person


How much do Germans pay for their healthcare per month? What if their spouse has coverage already? Will they get denied?

Some folks here are so afraid of getting ****ed by the government, they’re willing to overlook the big fat corporate insurance dick they’re sucking. No it’s not the .gov denying you healthcare, it’s the insurance company instead. Except the insurance company is motivated by money

That’s just my opinion tho

You DO realize German is not "government" healthcare? It's a multi-payer system.

Australian Healthcare is problematic in the same way Canada is.

 

[okcBob]

I think Germany takes 15% out of your paycheck for healthcare

 

[trekrok]

Our carrier went belly up in OK on 8/31/23, so we got to go through the whole process again. But now we have an awesome $7k individual deductible plan for only $1700/month for the family of 4. The crap insurance available after Obamacare is basically useless for us unless we get cancer.

One thing that needs to happen imo is primary care docs need to be uncoupled from the big networks.

 

[okcBob]

Our carrier went belly up in OK on 8/31/23, so we got to go through the whole process again. But now we have an awesome $7k individual deductible plan for only $1700/month for the family of 4. The crap insurance available after Obamacare is basically useless for us unless we get cancer.

One thing that needs to happen imo is primary care docs need to be uncoupled from the big networks.

This might be an option for primary care You pay the doc monthly for unlimited visits. Then get a cheaper insurance for catastrophic events (hospitalization).
https://www.refinemedclinic.com/pricing

 

[Frederick]

You DO realize German is not "government" healthcare? It's a multi-payer system.

Australian Healthcare is problematic in the same way Canada is.

It is..so let’s adopt the German system

 

[okcBob]

Works for me. Call Congress to make it happen. They will fix it right after they fix immigration, the national debt, Social Security, etc