Post: #1

Younger American guy here, I was wondering if anyone knew of any cheap/quality health insurance plans. The main coverage I want is in case of some kind of accident. I think I'm in pretty good health, what spurned this need to get this done was a 29 y/o relative of some people I know didn't have health insurance, got in a car accident, is paralyzed from the waist down and because of all this, now a quarter mill in debt (seriously). I looked into some on the net, but now my phone is getting blown up with insurance salesmen, so I thought I'd ask here. I trust y'all's opinions. Thanks in advance

Post: #2

(02-28-2018 02:42 PM)BlastbeatCasanova Wrote:  Younger American guy here, I was wondering if anyone knew of any cheap/quality health insurance plans. The main coverage I want is in case of some kind of accident. I think I'm in pretty good health, what spurned this need to get this done was a 29 y/o relative of some people I know didn't have health insurance, got in a car accident, is paralyzed from the waist down and because of all this, now a quarter mill in debt (seriously). I looked into some on the net, but now my phone is getting blown up with insurance salesmen, so I thought I'd ask here. I trust y'all's opinions. Thanks in advance

I got the cheapest PPO plan I could find with the highest deductible. It is $400 per month from Blue Shield through ehealthinsurance.com. You can go the HMO route, but the network for those is not as extensive, and there are more restrictions. In my opinion, they are not worth the hassle/risk. In the event that you are traveling and have an accident, for example, it would be bad news. There are lots of things that make sense to go the cheap route. This is not one of them.

For reference, I had a similar catastrophic plan five years ago for $80 per month. When Obamacare started to kick in, it went to $200 per month. Now it is $400 per month. Premiums are definitely going up, at least for me.

Post: #3

You should be able to go anywhere and get it. Healthcare is "affordable" now.

Post: #4

If you have some time for training, you could consider the National Guard, Air National Guard or the Reserve in any of the military branches. They have access to quality, cheap healthcare. There's also the TSP (401k) with a 5% match.

I'd personally go with the Coast Guard Reserve because the work would be more rewarding and it would be easier to have a normal life. Say a station near you needs a Boatswain's Mate. You'd basically go in and drive around on a boat for one weekend a month and a couple of weeks a year, and be doing the same missions with active-duty crews.

Post: #5

There was a thread I started on here before regarding Health Sharing Ministries. I am self employed an my obama care health insurance had gotten insane and the deductible was very high. I joined a health sharing ministry this year and have a lower deducible and much lower monthly premium.

Post: #6

Is it the norm in the US to pay 400usd a month for health insurance? it's the only country in the world that is so expensive, even the most expensive travel insurance costs less. What if you have a very low salary?

Post: #7

(03-14-2018 01:49 AM)nzd Wrote:  Is it the norm in the US to pay 400usd a month for health insurance? it's the only country in the world that is so expensive, even the most expensive travel insurance costs less. What if you have a very low salary?

If you are full time worker, it is common to get insurance through your employer, where the company gets a discounted group rate, and the employer either subsidizes the premiums or pays in full.

If you are not a full time worker, and you are under the age of 26, you may be able to be covered under your parents' health insurance.

If neither of the above apply, and you earn under a certain threshold a year, you can apply to get subsidized health insurance or health care through either the state or federal government.

If none of the above apply, then you have to purchase a plan on the open market, which is what I was referring to when I mentioned $400 per month.

The OP should evaluate all of the above possible options to see what he is eligible for, generally in order from top to bottom. I neglected to mention this in my first reply.

Post: #8

To me it seems the problem in the US is that is consumer is so far removed from the actual price charged, then let the hospitals etc get away with murder. Skin in the game and all that.

I was in the states for training and came down with chicken pox in my early 20s. To go to the hospital, see a doc for 5 mins, long enough to look at it, ask symptoms, and send off a sample to a lab, it cost over $1000. I had a friend have a heart murmur or something, and he had to stay over night and have a few tests before being released with the all clear. Bill for that was over $30k. I had insurance so I got it reimbursed, but how can you not be outraged at that cost for a 5 minute visit, for one of the most common ailments pretty much every single person in the country deals with in their life?

Why is it that I can get stitched up in Thailand for $40, but that wouldn't even cover the thread in the US? There is a disjoint somewhere between the prices and costs, and no one says boo because they aren't the ones paying. Then because of that, the people making their bread and butter happily pad bills, push unneeded things, and have several tiers of pricing depending on where the money is coming from, with absolutely no transparency to the person who's actually consuming the services.

$5k a year for basic, high deductible insurance for someone in the prime of their life is insane. I got a year long shit hits the fan policy for global travel for $350 a year from a company called imglobal. (Seemed legit, but never had to make a claim so who knows) also specifically excludes the US.

To think about those numbers in ballparks, assuming you live to 80 or so, that's 55 years, or $275k in premiums. Assuming they don't increase, but realistically they will so maybe 500k in premiums over a lifetime? Literally every single person on average could have a quarter million dollar car crash, heart attack, organ transplant or whatever, and they're still ahead.

While the system in Canada isn't perfect, I'm pretty happy that if the shit hits the fan, I'll probably be ok. I'm also sort of surprised on a forum with lots of people pursuing financial independence/location independence there isn't more outrage over having no real option for insurance aside from getting a regular job or paying through the nose.

Post: #9

Exactly the same reason people will go nuts on a company trip with an expense account. 3rd party billing is a recipe for waste.

I think the low cutoff for what's left of obamacare subsidies on the marketplace is around the poverty level or $20,000. Below that you'll get put on medicaid.

Post: #10

This varies greatly depending on what state you're in. Thanks to Obamacare PPOs are no longer available on the open market in New York State, only HMOs. This basically means no out of network coverage or options.