US health insurance changes, freakin unaffordable! - anyone else?

[DLA]

With all the changes in our healthcare recently, insurance premiums are sky rocketing. My fiances premium is going from like $150/month to well over $300/month. ughhhhh. And the coverage is decreasing and the copays are going to be so high it really won't be affordable to go the even the regular doctor let alone a specialist. Our son is on his plan currently. We are thinking of getting married like right now so we can all get on my plan which at the moment is much better, although I suspect that will be going up too but I'm hoping it won't be as bad because I work for New York state and am in a union..

We were planning to get married next year but there's no way we can afford these changes and pay two plans. Also we were planning to add another dependent when we have the baby so it just makes sense to have everyone on the better and for the time being, more affordable plan.

Anyone else do this? i'm a little bummed because I did want to plan the wedding and all that but we will still do a celebration next year. Is just so unromantic ! But ya gotta do what ya gotta do I guess.

 

[sophie22]

I'm not from America but just wanted to say, wow! I can't believe you have to pay that every month! What happens if you don't have insurance and need to go to the emergency room? Would they just not treat you?! I don't know why everywhere dosnt have the NHS like us, yeah it has flaws but atleast it's free!

 

[Mjane84]

I'm not from America but just wanted to say, wow! I can't believe you have to pay that every month! What happens if you don't have insurance and need to go to the emergency room? Would they just not treat you?! I don't know why everywhere dosnt have the NHS like us, yeah it has flaws but atleast it's free!

Emergency rooms have to treat you, but they charge you an arm and a leg for it. If you can't pay, they go after you legally and ruin your credit. It is a really sucky situation.

I am extremely lucky to have an employer who pays 100% of our premiums, but that is incredibly rare. OP, I totally feel your pain. As much as I hate to say it, I would put off a big wedding in lieu of insurance. You can always have a small gathering, and then do a vow renewal when you get some more money saved up. I know it stinks.

 

[sophie22]

I'm not from America but just wanted to say, wow! I can't believe you have to pay that every month! What happens if you don't have insurance and need to go to the emergency room? Would they just not treat you?! I don't know why everywhere dosnt have the NHS like us, yeah it has flaws but atleast it's free!

Emergency rooms have to treat you, but they charge you an arm and a leg for it. If you can't pay, they go after you legally and ruin your credit. It is a really sucky situation.

I am extremely lucky to have an employer who pays 100% of our premiums, but that is incredibly rare. OP, I totally feel your pain. As much as I hate to say it, I would put off a big wedding in lieu of insurance. You can always have a small gathering, and then do a vow renewal when you get some more money saved up. I know it stinks.

That's awful! I bet alot of people end up dying because they put off going knowing what it will cost if they do!

 

[lisanicole]

While I used to complain about insurance premiums all the time as my employer pays 300 per month and I pay 150 a month for my insurance ( total of 450 per month single plan - my son is on my husbands) I recently have learned why this is. My father had a heart attack last year. He has been in the hospital 6 times since then and has had a procedure to help his heart pump awaiting transplant. We received the medical bills for legal purposes and in 9 months Oxford (health company) paid 1.4 million dollars in medical fees for my father along with my father paying 30,000 in co pays and for medicine! So in times where you really need it - insurance comes through. He will also have a heart transplant hopefully any day which will cost another 1 million plus hundreds of thousands a year in upkeep. Insurance companies pay a lot of money for many people and unfortunately it costs for good care.

 

[xforuiholdonx]

Im still.covered under my moms health insurance policy, she also.works for the state of.new york, and hasnt mentioned a pokicy increase to me yet, though im sure if.it.goes up she will.complain about.it. i think.its all bullshit to.be honest! The health care in this.country really.sucks, and causes people.like.my father to.delay care, which also.might I add, contributated to.his death. Its sad when the DOCTORS OFFICE charges you $5000 to have a.baby, and then the hospita charges you again for your stay and yadda yadda.

 

[fionar]

I pay $15/paycheck ($30/mo) for MY coverage, but another $200-something for my son's. My husband pays about $300/mo for his own, and when baby arrives, we'll be paying even more. It's gross. The US is totally screwed up, healthcare-wise. (All this and yet they want to pay upwards of $15k for me to go to a hospital to have this baby, but won't pay $5k for my midwife for me to have a home birth. WTFS.)

 

[ArmyWife1984]

We currently pay 200 for family coverage through the army. Covers almost everything....love it!
Think i paid 30bucks in the five yrs we've had it.

We purposely got preg. Sooner because his coverage stops this fall so we need to pop this baby out beforehand to ensure we are covered.

I wish we had free coverage.

Once army healthcare stops we will most likely go through his regular employment ....hopefully its not an arm and a leg!!!

 

[Audraia]

Mine were $450 a month with me and my daughter on the plan, which is the reason I quit work and got the medical card this pregnancy. I paid out of pocket for her as my coverage didn't include maternity.

Our system is just messed up, and NOTHING is going to help it I don't think. I do like some of the changes made though, as pregnancy is no longer a pre-existing condition, not being able to turn people down from previous illnesses etc. But if some kind of regulation isn't put on insurance companies what they can charge and such then no one can afford to pay for insurance, and we're all better not working just to get coverage!

 

[CatherineK]

There is good and bad...our taxes are lower, but some pay High premiums. I have a great plan through work, and love my healthcare. For me, the $ is worth having choice of doctors, private hospital stays, comprehensive care (10 ultrasounds so far!) etc. but the new healthcare law is making everything MORE expensive and allowing less choice. It's not going to be pretty.

 

[DLA]

There is good and bad...our taxes are lower, but some pay High premiums. I have a great plan through work, and love my healthcare. For me, the $ is worth having choice of doctors, private hospital stays, comprehensive care (10 ultrasounds so far!) etc. but the new healthcare law is making everything MORE expensive and allowing less choice. It's not going to be pretty.

Yeah I agree. I don't expect healthcare to be free or cheap by any means because, someone has to pay for it of course but the new changes with obamacare I'm not a fan of because, while our healthcare was never cheap, it is now completely unaffordable for us.

I am lucky though. My healthcare is excellent through New York state and our family plan is only going to be $175 a month. We just have to rush everything and get married sooner rather than later, which isn't the end of world. I really really hope we don't loose all the choices we have though. I can't imagine not being able to research and choose the doctors that i want to see or facilities I want to go to. That's horrifying!

 

[YellowGrey]

To the OP, I had friends who did a quickie marriage at the courthouse for insurance reasons (she had it, he didn't, and he needed it). They only told very close family and friends that they had married. They then went forward with their already scheduled big wedding as if the first quickie wedding didn't happen. They now celebrate two wedding anniversaries!

 

[fionar]

To the OP, I had friends who did a quickie marriage at the courthouse for insurance reasons (she had it, he didn't, and he needed it). They only told very close family and friends that they had married. They then went forward with their already scheduled big wedding as if the first quickie wedding didn't happen. They now celebrate two wedding anniversaries!

This is almost exactly what we did. We went out to a bar with three friends, one of whom can do weddings, signed the papers, and had a couple drinks and a nice dinner.

Then, two months later, got married for real. I honestly don't remember our legal anniversary date, because I didn't FEEL married at that point... but hubby needed insurance and I had it.

 

[Rafferty]

While I used to complain about insurance premiums all the time as my employer pays 300 per month and I pay 150 a month for my insurance ( total of 450 per month single plan - my son is on my husbands) I recently have learned why this is. My father had a heart attack last year. He has been in the hospital 6 times since then and has had a procedure to help his heart pump awaiting transplant. We received the medical bills for legal purposes and in 9 months Oxford (health company) paid 1.4 million dollars in medical fees for my father along with my father paying 30,000 in co pays and for medicine! So in times where you really need it - insurance comes through. He will also have a heart transplant hopefully any day which will cost another 1 million plus hundreds of thousands a year in upkeep. Insurance companies pay a lot of money for many people and unfortunately it costs for good care.

That is partly true...but insurance companies don't often really pay the millions and strike a much lower bargain. It is just really the cost of things in the health industry is absurd. A pack of gauze is $10 from the hospital, but $3 at the store...crazy markups! My DD and I buy individual insurance..$311/mo for me and $125/mo for her. It is outrageous and barely affordable. But hey at least my three year old can get free birth control and an annual pap 100% covered each year...

 

[rowleypolie]

DH isn't even covered by insurance right now. Our state gives the kids free insurance only because DH had lost his job in march and when we renew in a few months they will move to a reduced cost state insurance (all children in my state qualify for insurance if not covered by work) I am only covered due to pregnancy and lose it 2 months after baby is born. We couldn't afford it. For our family we could have paid $500-600 a month but the deductible is so high that we would pay the actual cost of each appointment anyway and once that was exhausted it would be something like $40 each visit as a copayment. We have been lucky so far with no major need for the doc. Annual appointments and one case of pink eye is all this year

 

[qpaulina42]

I still hold out hope that obamacare will lead to some positive changes in the end. The entire health insurance/healthcare cost business is such a mess....
Do you have Empire through NY state? I think it's somewhere in the neighborhood of $200 a month for the family plan and it's been fairly stable cost wise and I mostly like them.

 

[MamaFlick]

My husband gets his insurance premiums paid 100% by his employer because he works for Native Americans... which is awesome. However to add a dependant it's around $350 per month.

I pay $152 per month for my health insurance through work, and once I add my baby to the plan it will shoot up to $356 per month. WTF? I am seriously concerned about how we're going to afford health insurance and daycare for our baby. That's about $800 extra in expense just from those two things, per month.

Of course, that would be a lot easier if I didn't have $20,000 in student loans left to pay off... And I went to community college for 2 years to save money. God I love the USA! Come here, work hard, so that we can make it impossible for you to ever get ahead of your bills and debt!

 

[Audraia]

MamaFlick, look at your local DHHR, because the government has programs for childrens healthcare, even if you make good money. It's a lot less expensive than getting it yourself. Most states don't want parents to have to make the choice to cover their kids or not, worth a look into! It's called CHIPS here in WV, my hubby and I made $60K a year and we still qualified.

 

[lisanicole]

While I used to complain about insurance premiums all the time as my employer pays 300 per month and I pay 150 a month for my insurance ( total of 450 per month single plan - my son is on my husbands) I recently have learned why this is. My father had a heart attack last year. He has been in the hospital 6 times since then and has had a procedure to help his heart pump awaiting transplant. We received the medical bills for legal purposes and in 9 months Oxford (health company) paid 1.4 million dollars in medical fees for my father along with my father paying 30,000 in co pays and for medicine! So in times where you really need it - insurance comes through. He will also have a heart transplant hopefully any day which will cost another 1 million plus hundreds of thousands a year in upkeep. Insurance companies pay a lot of money for many people and unfortunately it costs for good care.

That is partly true...but insurance companies don't often really pay the millions and strike a much lower bargain. It is just really the cost of things in the health industry is absurd. A pack of gauze is $10 from the hospital, but $3 at the store...crazy markups! My DD and I buy individual insurance..$311/mo for me and $125/mo for her. It is outrageous and barely affordable. But hey at least my three year old can get free birth control and an annual pap 100% covered each year...

I am sure what the hospitals actually charged for my father's care well exceeded 1.4 million.. that's what Oxford actually paid out. The cost for hospital care is so expensive. I think just for the "room" it was over 3000 per night and that's not including any test, doctors, medicine etc... The hospital also mark up because they know insurance companies will not pay full price so they hope to get at least some profit, after all, it is run like a business (debatable if it should be). However, I am fully for doctors earning salaries they do. It is one of the professions I believe earn their high salaries. They spend YEARS in school at a very high cost and then years after school making very little wage. By the time most doctors are making any money they are well into their 30's and most have student loans much higher than the average mortgage payment. AND most are very smart and do save lives.

 

[mummy3]

Health insurance can be crazy expensive

Ours is $700 a month premium, and our deductible and max out of pocket for the year (we've already hit it) will be 17k for the family. Cant fault the actual coverage though, I'm a super high risk pregnancy and already had in excess of 30 scans(and another today!) and got the best perinatologists, add to that 4 preemies with the last 2 born here with huge NICU costs and a daughter with rett syndrome needing alot of specialised care its unavoidable.