Anyone price out insurance policies on the exchanges yet?
- Thread starter BobbyBlueChip
- Start date
I know we're all trying to save money, but this is not the time to be skipping your meds.
If you're not angry, you're a drama queen. It's not safe.
But, to get to the point of the thread - There's a lot of great plans. You get to have much more of a say over what your deductible is, your coinsurance and maximum payout and choice in doctors. A lot of competition No one forcing you to take one of the two options your employer offered.
I just don't want to see people miss out on cash savings because they're listening to rhetoric.
If you're not angry, you're a drama queen. It's not safe.
But, to get to the point of the thread - There's a lot of great plans. You get to have much more of a say over what your deductible is, your coinsurance and maximum payout and choice in doctors. A lot of competition No one forcing you to take one of the two options your employer offered.
I just don't want to see people miss out on cash savings because they're listening to rhetoric.
Maybe I have it all wrong, maybe you have been getting killed by your employer (assuming you have one) with terrible options. Perhaps the awful plans offered on the .gov site are an improvement for you, maybe you are getting enough of a handout to make it worth your while, please don't misinterpret that as them being good plans.
250% of the Federal Poverty Line is pretty much being accepted as the Mendoza line (though I am sure you will disagree). At that level you qualify for little to most likely zero subsidy.
I got a significant increase in out of pocket spending this year and my plan is still light years ahead of anything I could get from the ACA. Yes, out of curiosity I looked.
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This should be your starting point in any thought process.
I havent been getting killed, its just the options offered werent needed by me, but i had to pay for them anyway. Now i dont. Now i spend it on a plan that makes sense for me.
There's a plan offered that's similar to your plan. Has to be. The reason that its not cheaper for you is that your employer pays for some of your plan. They take your compensation and spend it for you. Maybe some less sophisticated people need that type of hand holding with their money. But some people don't......and Ill save 5k this year with similar insurance.
You've been spewing this garbage since BEFORE the plan pricing even came out. Your just saying to get a rise out of people, which is sad.
If, IF, you are saving 5K a year then I'm right, your employer is destroying you. I won't pay 5K TOTAL this year, I never have. You gotta be spending more than 5K to save 5K. So either your lying (most likely answer) or you might benefit from some hand holding.
If your not paying more than 5 per year for a family then you :
A. Dont have a good plan
B. your employer is taking your compensation and paying it for you
C. Both
I started talking about this as soon as the pricing came out because that exactly the time I knew. It wasn't after I heard Fox News, cnn or zerohedge.com tell me what to think. Maybe everyone's better off with someone else spending your money.
So because you are "getting a deal" that translates to everyone else getting a deal on the exchanges?
I've said it before I'll say it again- our premiums went up 15-20%, deductible went up and out of pocket max is well of 2x what it was before.
I've said it before I'll say it again- our premiums went up 15-20%, deductible went up and out of pocket max is well of 2x what it was before.
Honestly , based on some of the points people are making, I don't know if you'd know if you were getting a deal or not. Can you post your policy comparison again like you did with your friend whose rates went up but you failed to notice that his deductible went down and his benefits increased?
Boys will email you monday.
More of the same, from a colleague-
Now you are just being retarded. Can you explain how I "don't have a good plan" when I shell out less than 5K/year and my family has complete medical care?
You on the other hand must be seeing 75% savings in order to save the lofty sums you claim here. I guess the policy you had and the one you are getting is top notch, huh?
Get off your high horse and realize how stupid you look. Save 5K and get a better plan? I guess that's like me saying I saved $5,000 on my $998 laptop. I guess it's possible if I was a moron and paid $5,998 for the first one. Though this second laptop is better since it has an apostrophe and apparently yours doesn't.
I can't tell if you're just stupid or if you're acting clueless just to fuck with me. I think the former based on other discussions. What you pay for your plan isn't the cost of the plan. Your employer takes your compensation and pays for some of it and you never even see it.
It's not that hard, but it feels like I've got to spoon feed you information which you willfully don't want to comprehend. But this is the land of the free and you're allowed to remain stupid and still have a voice in the debate.
I know exactly what you are saying. You feel as though my employer is spending part of my compensation on my healthcare package. Pretty sure this is the way it's been done for decades. In your mind:
I'm an idiot for allowing my employer to spend my money.
You are a genius for letting the government do the exact same thing.
No. I don't think you're an idiot for allowing your employer to spend your money. It's probably the best thing for you. I'd let them pick your 401k investments too.
I think you're an idiot because you don't even know what your health insurance costs are but you've been comparing them to previous years, costs on the exchange and talking about how your insurance costs more with a higher deductible when you don't have any fucking clue what your individual health insurance costs. Having a debate about individual health care costs when you don't have any clue (until this afternoon) about who is paying for your health care costs and how much they are is idiotic. But carry on ..... And make it sound like you have some clue about what you're talking about with such conviction.
And . . . seriously, let them invest your 401k for you.
Bobby, I can't speak for the board but I can tell you my understanding of insurances will probably run circles around just about everyone on this board and the general population. Not that I'm that great and all but my livelihood depends on it, so you bet your ass I know it inside and out.
Regarding your post, I'm not so sure you understand things too well. Regarding the picture you quoted:
"His benefits increased"- please tell me how so. All benefits (coverage percentages) are the same.
Previous plan: Yearly premiums: 1,186.80. He has no choice but to pay this. He is guaranteed to be out this much money. Yes, his deductible is 5k. People typically don't hit their deductible year in and year out. His worst case scenario out of pocket for the year is premiums + deductible: 6,186.80
New Plan: Yearly Premiums: 3,688.44. Again, this is a definite expense. Worst case scenario for the year; premium + deductible: 7188.44
So with his new plan he, at the very least, is going to pay 2500$ in premiums guaranteed. If he is healthy like most people and he doesn't touch his deductible but for every couple years, it's no contest man.
So if we take out the political bs and the personal vendettas and strictly look at the numbers, it should be quite obvious that plan #1 is far superior. If you fail to see that then you my friend are the one who lacks a true understanding of insurance. This is not an argument you are going win.
I looked at the line that said "essential health benefits". Plan A says "no". Plan B says "yes"
Yes. Plan B has a lower deductible. That's what I said. Plans with lower deductibles cost more.
I have no idea if it's superior. Are any if his doctors out of network? What essential benefits is plan A missing? Does he use those? Did he used to have to pay for them?
My argument was that plan b had a lower deductible and had more benefits. Does it? Did I win?
Pretty impossible to argue with it. Isn't it? Do you disagree?
Do you think getting more benefits and a lower deductible means lower costs?
No, it doesn't. He doesn't need maternity. He doesn't need pediatric dental. More benefits are meaningless if they aren't services he needs.
And, hello, lower deductible does not mean lower costs. I showed that above. But, you refuse to acknowledge the reality. His guaranteed out of pocket is higher and even with the lower deductible his max out of pocket is higher as well. But, of course you failed to address this because you are 100% wrong.
Make up your mind flip flopper.
Previous plan:
Annual premiums: 1,186.80.
Deductible: 5,000
Max out of Pocket: 6,186
New Plan:
Annual Premiums: 3,688
Deductible: 3,500
Max out of pocker: 7188
Fact: If he doesn't hit his deductible he is guaranteed to pay much more yearly because of the premiums
Fact: Even if deductible is hit, he still pays more total
Fact: Lower deductible plan is more expensive- you keep implying that it's an advantage to have a lower deductible. This means you don't understand insurance- it's not just one thing, it's the sum of the parts
Fact: He is being forced to pay for things he doesn't need (pediatric dental, maternity), costing him more, because of government mandates
