For MattP

[JayB]

"As I pointed out, to the sneers of Fairweather and Canyondweller, my wife and I pay over $7,000.00 a year for medical insurance plus deducibles and other uninsured costs (our deductible is $1,500.00) and we have no kids and no history of expensive medical ills. If you work for the government (god forbid) or medium to larger businesses you probably have pretty good insurance and don't have any idea how much it actually costs. If you work for small business, are self employed, or are disabled -- maybe not."

 

My wife and I just finished shopping for individual health coverage in Washington, and opted for a plan from Regence "Regence HSA HealtPlan" with the following characteristics.

 

-$5,000 deductible (per family)

-80% coverage over the deductible

-$10,000 annual out-of-pocket maximum (this includes the $5,000) deductible

-lifetime maximum coverage of 1-2 million (can't recall this one off the top of my head).

 

Total cost per month is $84 for my wife (30-34 bracket), $99 for me (35-39 bracket), for an annual total of $2196.

 

Here's the breakdown for other brackets:

 

(40-44): $127

(45-49): $147

(50-54): $172

(54-59): $203

(60+): $236

 

Assuming that your average age is somewhere between 40 and 50, your monthly bill would be between $3048 and $3528 annually, or around half of what you say that you are currently paying.

 

Since the people that you go to for your non-critical medical care don't take insurance anyway, and you would presumably rather have the money that you don't spend on health-care in your own savings account, rather than an account owned by an insurance company, it seems like a plan like this would make a fair bit of sense for you.

 

Their number is: 888-344-8234.

 

I'm sure that Lifewise and others have similar plans. Now that you are aware of these facts, any sums that you spend on health insurance over and above these figures will represent a choice you've made concerning the nature of your coverage, rather than a circumstance with "the system" has forced you to accept.

 

 

 

 

[mattp]

Thanks for the information. You've made some incorrect assumptions, but it is good information none-the-less. You could have offered it without the quip about personal choices.

[JayB]

Yeah - I should have left out the churlish comment. Sorry.

[olyclimber]

jayb must be back. i hear words like "rational" and of course the trademark churling!

 

churl (chûrl)

n.

1. A rude, boorish person. See Synonyms at boor.

2. A miserly person.

3.

a. A ceorl.

b. A medieval English peasant.

 

I'm just wondering which definition you meant Jay?

 

Welcome back, hope the canyon is treating you well!

[sobo]

I'm just wondering which definition you meant Jay?

Mebbe these ones...

 

churl·ish –adjective

1. like a churl; boorish; rude: churlish behavior.

2. of a churl; peasantlike.

3. niggardly; mean.

4. difficult to work or deal with, as soil.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

—Related forms

churl·ish·ly, adverb

churl·ish·ness, noun

 

—Synonyms 1. coarse, uncouth, vulgar, loutish; ill-natured, uncivil.

[mattp]

I think he meant hurl-ish.

 

 

[sobo]

Ya know, WTF ever happened to the :hurl: graemlin we had before the last upgrade? We lost that one, and a few others, but also got some nice new graemlins in the exchange.

 

And speaking of graemlins, WTF ever happened to TLG? She was the Master of Emoticons...

[mattp]

You better watch those torpedo's or you'll be needing that graemlin too.

[sobo]

Naaah, I'll only need that graemlin if I start mixin' and matchin' my brews like I did at TG's this past February. Not ever gonna do that again...

[Hugh Conway]

ceorl - the free peasant who formed the base of Anglo-Saxon society.

 

What's with the elitism?

[billcoe]

Don't know who was flaming whom. Must have been taking a nap. In my world we cover everyone at work, it averages just under $300 a person at Kaiser. However, they have like a $15 deductible each trip. I actually think that Jayb has made a better choice with the large deductible, but that's not what you get or the way it happens when you let the employees pick the plan. They wanted it simple and cheap (for them), and looked at several options. It does cost a bit more. Next thing you know, they're damn happy and don't want to leave and you're make money hand over fist off their efforts.

 

What were we talkin about?

[Hugh Conway]

There's no fucking way your total premium is $300 a year dipshit

[Bug]

I paid Group Death $347 a month which included dental.

[Fairweather]

What's up with tax-free medical savings accounts? Deducted in installments from your paycheck pre-tax voluntarily, but if you don't use any/all of it by the end of the year, the government takes it everything that remains! WTF?