Ask YC: What do you spend on health insurance?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=181697

by rrival • 18 years ago

11 65 18 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I'm on Aetna's individual plan. They seem to increase premiums around $50/month every 6mos. I don't think I should be spending $300/month on health insurance (I haven't been to see a doc in over a year, no other issues, etc).

Q: Is this high/low? Q: Who do you use and what do you pay?

utnick• 18 years ago

150 for aetna in texas

whats your deductable.. I think mine is 1k

I think rates also vary depending on location / age

rrival3• 18 years ago

Good call. I think I'm going to look into increasing my deductible.

icey• 18 years ago

Quick Disclaimer, I work tangentially in the health insurance industry. That being said, I know what variables factor in to a rate:

1. Deductible

2. Age

3. Whether or not you use tobacco - This includes chew.

4. Your gender makes a difference.

5. Occasionally, your BMI makes a difference. But most often, it's age + tobacco use that makes the largest difference.

Insurance rates will also change by your location. Say you had a twin who lived 1 city over; you may get different rates depending on your location.

Occasionally, a rate quote will be different due to the time of year that you're asking for your effective date. That seems to differ between carriers, and not a lot of carriers do this type of discounting or loading.

Hope that helps.

davidw• 18 years ago

"Nothing": I live in Austria.

Well, clearly it's paid for somehow, but I don't pay for it directly. It is important to understand that it's not "free". All told though, I'm happier than with the system in the US.

Indeed, I went to the doctor today, had to wait 15 minutes, and got some antibiotics and other stuff to clear up my cold, all for 18 Euro.

mixmax6• 18 years ago

I pay nothing, and never have.

Of course I don't live in the US. And btw. I think you should get your health system fixed over there, it's broken.

alaskamiller• 18 years ago

So you don't pay taxes?

run4yourlives11• 18 years ago

He pays taxes though, not to see the doctor. Difference is subtle but relevant.

mixmax6• 18 years ago

Per capita health expenditure in the US is $5711, in Denmark (where I'm from) it's $2743. And the healthcare here is excellent.

Source: OECD

rrival3• 18 years ago

Completely agree, but not moving out of the US =) http://tinyurl.com/6973da

run4yourlives11• 18 years ago

You do probably pay for extended Health Insurance though, most likely as part of your benefits package through your employer.

mixmax6• 18 years ago

actually no - and I don't know of anyone that does.

Prrometheus• 18 years ago

I'm working on reintroducing pricing information into medical decisions, but so far my chosen method of posting screeds on relevant sections of the internet seems to not be effective.

kynikos• 18 years ago

I pay $486/mo for myself to be covered under the most comprehensive plan available from BC/BS. Is it worth it? Not really, but co-pays are cheap and prescriptions are almost free.

goofygrin12• 18 years ago

We pay about $270/mo for the three of us on an HSA plan (in Texas). $5k deductible, 100% coinsurance after that, HSA approved.

rrival3• 18 years ago

ah, HSA = Health Savings Account (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_savings_account)

thaumaturgy• 18 years ago

I joke that I have "American Health Insurance": don't get sick, and damn-sure don't get hurt.

No health insurance, can't afford it now. Tend to be pretty healthy and heal well, so so far the gamble is working out.

That said, the financial issues surrounding health care in the U.S. are disgraceful, and I don't understand how anyone in an industrialized first-world country could look at it and say, "Yep, looks fine to me."

jdavid• 18 years ago

i recently stopped paying for health insurance, for me, it was $1800 a year. $5k deductible, and I got the healthy living discount.

In one of my first jobs out of college I worked for a medical billing company, here is what we learned, while writing the software.

I am not sure on the math, but I think you are more likely to come out ahead when you buy blackjack insurance, than you are in the US when you buy health insurance. HSA's are great and on average most Americans would come out ahead over their life expectancy. And I am almost positive, that if more than 50% of the US paid for healthcare without going through an insurance company, health care would become much more affordable.

The health insurance industry is broken in this country, more than 50% of claims do not get paid, so doctors jack up the rates 50% to cover the failed claims process. Not to mention the frivolous law suits, and hospitals adding crazy crap to the bill of better insurance companies to pay for care. The whole system is more corrupt than the Mob.

HSA's offer the advantage to save and invest that money tax free, so that you can put the buying power back in your hands. Since its your money and you want to save it for old age, you will have the option to opt out of care that is extra. If you feel fine, you go home. Hospitals will need to get better at explaining your risks, and the decision are put in your hands.

Did you know that if you talk to a doc, most will give you a discount on the procedure if you pay for it out of pocket and up front? We saw bills go through that were at 25% of a docs normal billing rate when people paid out of pocket and up front. An example, might be if you had a broken arm, instead of your insurance company paying $1200 for casting, and x-rays, you could walk in and pay $300-600 if you payed up front. The down side to this, for people who do this and have insurance, come in that it does not go against their deductible, so a future incident that year would need to be covered again out of pocket.

In a previous company I started, I set up a $5k HSA for each of my employees, and then they only had a $5k deductible. It was up to them to control costs, and health insurance with a $5k is pretty cheap, if you know how to shop for it.

johns• 18 years ago

$120/month with an HSA and a $1800 max out of pocket every year. found it through http://www.ehealthinsurance.com

izak30• 18 years ago

Healthy 20yr Old M.

115/mo + 1500 deductible. It's an HSA plan, with 100% covered after the deductible.

mkull• 18 years ago

I spend $125 a month on aetna's individual plan, low copays / deductibles

fortes• 18 years ago

When I was living in Seattle and self-employed, I was paying $155 / mo for Regence Blue Shield's best plan ($500 deductible & 80% coverage) [this was Jan 2007]

After a year, it increased $50. I left the insurance a few months ago, so no clue what will happen next year.

Before Regence, I was paying for COBRA, which was incredibly expensive ($430 / mo) -- this was because I was traveling abroad in places with weird diseases, and I didn't feel like taking a chance. I only did this for 6 months or so.

EDIT: Forgot to mention. I am/was 28, healthy, non-smoker. No kids.

mutex• 18 years ago

Just get high deductible health care with an HSA, I pay about $80/mo and then however much I want to put in my account(which I keep!). Plus this does not keep me chained to a particular employer and I am free to change jobs without fear of losing health care coverage

pistoriusp• 18 years ago

In South Africa I'm paying R850, which is roughly $100. This is only for what is called a "hospital plan," which means that if I'm in an accident that requires hospitalisation that I'll be taken to a private hospital and not exposed to the national health care system. Which is rather scary.

goodkarma• 18 years ago

We got our health insurance through the National Association of Self-Employed http://nase.org/ - paying approx $300/month for my wife and myself.

mk• 18 years ago

I pay around $700-800/month for health/vision/dental. My employer takes care of around $400 of it, so out of pocket I pay around $300-400. BTW this is for me and my wife.

shermans• 18 years ago

Between the employer and my own contributions (about 50/50) costs are 5k USD/year for health and dental. I have a 1200 deductible that is paid by my employer 100%. I see a couple of specialists and can see anyone at any time. That embodies my appreciation for the US system.

markdionne• 18 years ago

I pay $1232 per month, which includes wife and 2 kids, for pretty top end Blue Cross insurance in Massachusetts. No dental. I'm self-employed and this is through COBRA from a previous job. I suspect I could save by shopping around and going for a high deductible.

kogus• 18 years ago

I live in the USA. My employer provides my health insurance free of charge. I pay $12 / week for my spouse though.

pk• 18 years ago

$172 per month (single person coverage) with a $2000 deductible (routine physicals, dental, eye care covered with small co-pay).

I'm in Massachusetts and use FCHP. The premiums for me have been going down a few dollars every year, which, come to think of it, is pretty remarkable. :-)

anamax• 18 years ago

About half of the US population is currently getting govt healthcare at a per-capita cost that is basically the same as the per-capita cost of the folks getting private healthcare.

If govt healthcare in the US will be cheaper than private, why isn't it now?

Note to single-payer advocates. Nothing is stopping you from fixing the existing US govt healthcare system to provide the promised benefits. When you do, then all you have to do to kill the private system is open up the fixed public system at cost. Of course, that assumes that you can actually make govt healthcare work as you've asserted, but surely that's no big deal....

Ask YC: What do you spend on health insurance?

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