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Just to clarify (non-US citizen here) - you pay $1300 per month for health insurance that covers just 2 people? Is this a maxed out policy that covers pre-exist

Just to clarify (non-US citizen here) - you pay $1300 per month for health insurance that covers just 2 people? Is this a maxed out policy that covers pre-existing conditions or is this just 'normal'?

mgkimsal 8y ago
Yep. the ACA ("obamacare") made it so that pretty much everything is "maxed-out" - includes pre-existing conditions, etc. This is buying on the 'open market' - the majority of people have insurance provided by their employer, and often pay nothing or a smaller % of the normal monthly cost. And larger employers seem to get somewhat discounted rates than an individual buying on the open market. Employer-provided health insurance has been one of the biggest problems with health care in the US for decades (in my opinion). Your health is now inextricably tied to your fortune to get a job, to have an employer who's savvy enough to stay in business (and grow), and you remain healthy enough to keep working at said employer. Leave a job for a 'better' one? You might not have insurance at the new place for months, and you either have no insurance, or have to pay for the 'full price' yourself for that time gap (which can end up being easily more than $2k/month for a family policy). US-based HN folks making figures probably don't think of this as much more than an inconvenience, but it's a huge drag on labor mobility. 'Market' is an odd word - in the county I live in, there's usually only one insurance company that sells policies (I think this year and next there's 2, but we've had years where it's just 1). But hey... you know, some AT&T people got a whole $1000 bonus for 15 years of service last December because of the big awesome 'jobs act' and tax cut (right before they were laid off). So hey, we're 'winning' so much in the US right now. #maga EDIT: I just looked at plan estimates for next year. In my state, they've reduced some pricing (the primary way they did that was to cut costs by stoping coverage in a populous area). However, the 'bare bones' policy is a mere $920/month, with a $16000 deductible, meaning a big accident needing a lot of surgery/etc could put someone out of pocket for ... $27k that year. The plan prices are income-based - the less income you earn, the lower the price may be, due to gov subsidies. That fades out as you become a high-earner. The numbers above are for a couple earning the princely sum of $70k USD.
max76 8y ago
As a young, healthy, single, nonsmoker adult male insurance ranges between $220-$450/month depending on the quality of insurance. Edit: Laws passed in the last decade declare all insurance plans must cover preexisting conditions and cannot adjust the price or decline customers based on preexisting conditions.
esrauch 8y ago
That's normal, but overall not a large percentage of people are actually paying that: people with salaried jobs are typically insured through their employer (where they often end up paying a smaller percentage), the lowest earners are on medicare or subsidized insurance plans.

mgkimsal 8y ago

Yep. the ACA ("obamacare") made it so that pretty much everything is "maxed-out" - includes pre-existing conditions, etc. This is buying on the 'open market' - the majority of people have insurance provided by their employer, and often pay nothing or a smaller % of the normal monthly cost. And larger employers seem to get somewhat discounted rates than an individual buying on the open market. Employer-provided health insurance has been one of the biggest problems with health care in the US for decades (in my opinion). Your health is now inextricably tied to your fortune to get a job, to have an employer who's savvy enough to stay in business (and grow), and you remain healthy enough to keep working at said employer. Leave a job for a 'better' one? You might not have insurance at the new place for months, and you either have no insurance, or have to pay for the 'full price' yourself for that time gap (which can end up being easily more than $2k/month for a family policy). US-based HN folks making figures probably don't think of this as much more than an inconvenience, but it's a huge drag on labor mobility. 'Market' is an odd word - in the county I live in, there's usually only one insurance company that sells policies (I think this year and next there's 2, but we've had years where it's just 1). But hey... you know, some AT&T people got a whole $1000 bonus for 15 years of service last December because of the big awesome 'jobs act' and tax cut (right before they were laid off). So hey, we're 'winning' so much in the US right now. #maga EDIT: I just looked at plan estimates for next year. In my state, they've reduced some pricing (the primary way they did that was to cut costs by stoping coverage in a populous area). However, the 'bare bones' policy is a mere $920/month, with a $16000 deductible, meaning a big accident needing a lot of surgery/etc could put someone out of pocket for ... $27k that year. The plan prices are income-based - the less income you earn, the lower the price may be, due to gov subsidies. That fades out as you become a high-earner. The numbers above are for a couple earning the princely sum of $70k USD.

max76 8y ago

As a young, healthy, single, nonsmoker adult male insurance ranges between $220-$450/month depending on the quality of insurance. Edit: Laws passed in the last decade declare all insurance plans must cover preexisting conditions and cannot adjust the price or decline customers based on preexisting conditions.

esrauch 8y ago

That's normal, but overall not a large percentage of people are actually paying that: people with salaried jobs are typically insured through their employer (where they often end up paying a smaller percentage), the lowest earners are on medicare or subsidized insurance plans.