COBRA Health Insurance?

[lbcgav]

Originally Posted by Douglas

We wonder why we have cost issues with health care in this country.

Nobody realizes what it costs to go to the doctor, to have surgery, to actually use this stuff. It's not that COBRA premiums are huge - that's just what it costs, and nobody realizes it because someone else is paying for it.

No doubt. That's why I don't like the notion of employer provided health insurance. The user is no longer an informed consumer of the product. There's no necessity to find cheaper alternatives for each individual consumer since they're not the ones making the purchasing decisions.

 

[MsMcGillicuddy]

Originally Posted by Douglas

We wonder why we have cost issues with health care in this country. Nobody realizes what it costs to go to the doctor, to have surgery, to actually use this stuff. It's not that COBRA premiums are huge - that's just what it costs, and nobody realizes it because someone else is paying for it.
The question is - is that *really* what it costs? I've seen what my doctors charge for things, and what my insurance offered to pay. It's all screwed up.

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by MsMcGillicuddy

COBRA premiums can be huge - often $300 and more for a single adult. Other posters are right - the other aspects of the coverage stay the same; it's just the monthly fee that skyrockets.

This is just wrong. The monthly fee does not change in the least. It's just that you get to see how much your job has been subsidizing your health care premiums.

Further, The Big O just made changes to COBRA, forcing your former employer to continue paying 65% of your premium. COBRA just became much more affordable, due to the costs being shifted 65% back to the former employer.

 

[MsMcGillicuddy]

Originally Posted by lbcgav

No doubt. That's why I don't like the notion of employer provided health insurance. The user is no longer an informed consumer of the product. There's no necessity to find cheaper alternatives for each individual consumer since they're not the ones making the purchasing decisions.

+100000000000000000

 

[Douglas]

^Oh **** yeah I forgot about that.

 

[MsMcGillicuddy]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

This is just wrong. The monthly fee does not change in the least. It's just that you get to see how much your job has been subsidizing your health care premiums.

Further, The Big O just made changes to COBRA, forcing your former employer to continue paying 65% of your premium. COBRA just became much more affordable, due to the costs being shifted 65% back to the former employer.

There's a difference between "fee" and "premium." The fee may not have changed, but the premium (what the insured person pays) does change. I paid $0 before - I will pay $300 starting next week. The fee for the service may have been $300 the whole time, but like I said, the PREMIUM is what is different now.

As for the recent change, it only applies to people who are layed off, not those who are leaving their job voluntarily.

 

[Douglas]

mmmm i'm gonna have to dispute how you're parsing the word premium.

you might say your out-of-pocket has changed, but the premium is the same.

but it's semantics, really. i get your point - you are paying more - but the amount the insurance company collects (in my lingo, the "premium&quot remains the same, except for that admin fee.

 

[lbcgav]

Originally Posted by Douglas

mmmm i'm gonna have to dispute how you're parsing the word premium.

you might say your out-of-pocket has changed, but the premium is the same.

but it's semantics, really. i get your point - you are paying more - but the amount the insurance company collects (in my lingo, the "premium") remains the same, except for that admin fee.

I think I'll just wait for you to answer for me from now on. This is exactly what I was thinking.

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by MsMcGillicuddy

There's a difference between "fee" and "premium." The fee may not have changed, but the premium (what the insured person pays) does change. I paid $0 before - I will pay $300 starting next week. The fee for the service may have been $300 the whole time, but like I said, the PREMIUM is what is different now.

As for the recent change, it only applies to people who are layed off, not those who are leaving their job voluntarily.

The premium is what is paid to the insurance company.

No matter how you slice it, your summation prior to my correction was not portraying the picture honestly. You stated <insert whatever word you want to indicate payments to the insurance company> "skyrocketed" under COBRA. That's just not true.

Also, if you read your own post, you've used the words "fee" and "premium" interchangably.

 

[MsMcGillicuddy]

Fair enough Douglas. And you and others on here make a good point - we should all see how much health care REALLY costs (if that's even possible at this point).

Personally I'd like to see the whole thing completely uncoupled from employment. So many problems with it. Just one example - I'm sure this is a ****** day - "Sorry, you're being let go. Also, now that you have no income, if you want to keep your family covered, come up with $1000 a month until you find another job . . ."

 

[MsMcGillicuddy]

Edit: No point. You get what I meant. Sorry to hijack your thread imightbechad. Good luck with the insurance!

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by MsMcGillicuddy

Douglas seemed to get my point - what Insurance Company X is getting may not have changed, but what I am paying has, in my definition, skyrocketed.

Read:

Originally Posted by Piobaire

This is just wrong. The monthly fee does not change in the least. It's just that you get to see how much your job has been subsidizing your health care premiums.

 

[imightbechad]

Thanks for the replies, guys, even the CE-ish stuff going on in the background.

Any ideas for places to shop around? I'm not really familiar with this stuff at all.

Chad

 

[MsMcGillicuddy]

Originally Posted by imightbechad

Thanks for the replies, guys, even the CE-ish stuff going on in the background.

Any ideas for places to shop around? I'm not really familiar with this stuff at all.

Chad

No sure which state you are in - that influences what is available. You might want to look into getting an insurance broker - they get paid by the insurance companies (in my experience) so you don't pay anything. But some general options are GHI, Blue Shield, Blue Cross, Kaiser and United Health. I used to have a link to a great site by a university that compared a bunch of plans, but I can't find it right now. If I do find it I'll PM you.

 

[lbcgav]

Originally Posted by imightbechad

Thanks for the replies, guys, even the CE-ish stuff going on in the background.

Any ideas for places to shop around? I'm not really familiar with this stuff at all.

Chad

Sorry for getting CE-ish on you.

I don't know too much about it but you might want to look into using ehealthinsurance.com.