Monday, March 22, 2010
What the heck is insurance??
Over the past few weeks I have been running around trying to get our family on ACCHS (government health insurance). I just found out today that I am approved, but that Sam and Devin are not. So...I need to find a health plan for the two of them. I have been feeling very strongly about this lately, and I know that we need to be prepared in case one of us gets hurt or sick. I just searched online and found plans as cheap as $87 per month, but the deductibles are way high. I'm so confused. If you have guidance or advice, please tell me!
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8 comments:
Rachel and I use a High Deductible plan coupled with a Health Savings Account (HSA).
A high deductible plan works well for us because we are both fairly healthy (we seldom visit the doctor), but do want good coverage in case of catastrophic events. Our particular plan covers us both at 100% if we reach the deductible ($5000). This means that all we could ever pay in a year on health insurance would be $5000(not including premiums).
HSA's are accounts that you set-up that you can deposit money into on a pre-tax basis. Basically, you can use an HSA to pay for any medical expense (prescription, doctors appointment, even chiropractic). Make sure to deposit a regular amount into an HSA, otherwise when you run into an emergency, you may end up using after-tax dollars (because you don't have enough in your HSA), so a little bit of planning can save some money. HSA's roll over from year to year.
Anyways, there are a lot of complexities (e-mail me if you have questions), but I would think a high deductible coupled with an HSA would work well for you.
Also keep in mind that with a High Deductible Plan, you will be paying money out of your own pocket until the deductible is met...luckily you can use your HSA for these expenses. This means that individual doctors appointments can cost hundreds of dollars (ouch)...it is however MUCH better than paying cash, because you will be charged insurance rates and not cash rates (which can be 50% of cash rates).
We had a high deductible insurance. It sucked for when I had a baby, it would have been cheaper to have the baby with no insurance.
For Jason it was fine, he pretty much never saw a doctor, so it was there 'just in case' he was diagnosed with something serious or had a big accident or something. So if they hardly use the Dr. then it is a good idea. One of our high deductible plans covered 100% of immunizations for parker, so if you can find that, then you could save money with a high deductible plan
seriously, private plans just suck and that's all there is to it. we pay 850 a month for an okay plan...but i had to hit a 5000 deductible to have a baby and 1000 deductible for other things (like my foot surgery). i wish there was a better option out there.good luck!
Insurance is so frustrating! I'm going to have to start looking around for new plans as well cuz - can't afford to stay on mine. Let me know what you decide to do!
Oh and I'm so glad you got approved for acchs. Wish I could be on that for maternity. :)
Unfortunately NO individual plan works. That's how insurance companies make their money.
We have been abused by insurance companies who manipulate and lie. So we chose the cheapest plan with the highest deductible (hoping there's a small chance they might cover a catastrophic event). Then, we pay cash for EVERYTHING else.
We try to stay away from mainstream medicine as much as possible. Instead, we go to a really good Naturopathic physician and get MUCH better care.
Allison, this is soo much later than when you needed it, but we have been on AHCCS for our whole marriend life, and sometimes Jake hasn't qualified, but they have a thing called kidscare, which is for adults too :) and it is super cheap, so if you still need any info, drop me a line.
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