https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 25 May 2026 10:31:21 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2410174 Tue, 05 Jan 2016 13:34:27 +0000 wheres_c 2410174@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We were on a HDHP when I got pregnant. My delivery was a C-section and we got stuck paying the family max ~$12K. It took us almost 3 years to pay off the birth! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2410117 Tue, 05 Jan 2016 12:42:15 +0000 snowjewelz 2410117@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MamaG: wow, I just read 3 articles... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2410098 Tue, 05 Jan 2016 12:32:24 +0000 MamaG 2410098@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If you ever want to read something really different on this front that makes huge sense, Google "Cost Plus Health Insurance". It's a bit mind boggling. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2410092 Tue, 05 Jan 2016 12:30:06 +0000 Boogs 2410092@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MamaG: Nope, but not shocked to near multiple insurances are like this. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2410089 Tue, 05 Jan 2016 12:28:53 +0000 MamaG 2410089@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Boogs: Let me guess, UHC? I've had nothing but headaches with them on both of my deliveries and how they handled the claims. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2410084 Tue, 05 Jan 2016 12:25:10 +0000 Boogs 2410084@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@snowjewelz: Exactly. So disturbing. And we are all seriously heathly and never go to the doctor. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2410081 Tue, 05 Jan 2016 12:24:17 +0000 snowjewelz 2410081@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Boogs: Omg.. This is the problem with insurance!! :shocked: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2410073 Tue, 05 Jan 2016 12:19:45 +0000 Boogs 2410073@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@snowjewelz: The first time they charged baby for something as his own plan even though he was covered under me for the first 30 days. They said because it was outside of the standard care, but he needed what he did because of their mistake! They waved it fairly quickly because they knew they were in lawsuit territory after nearly killing both of us. The second time, they didn't even understand our plan! They were billing for a family vs individual plan's OOP max. After months of calls and stacks of documentation, we finally got to the source of the problem and found someone there who actually understood their plans. After all the people we talked to, we realized no one even understood their own plans and the way things should be billed. It was outrageous! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409934 Tue, 05 Jan 2016 10:51:28 +0000 snowjewelz 2409934@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Boogs: Wow! What did you fight about, if you don't mind me asking? I poured over all my hospital bills. But again, b/c I don't know how much things SHOULD cost, I really couldn't find anything to fight about.. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409931 Tue, 05 Jan 2016 10:49:01 +0000 Boogs 2409931@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@snowjewelz: Fighting claims is the pits, but usually worth the energy: For my first birth is saved me $2,500 and the second $4,000! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409774 Tue, 05 Jan 2016 09:23:40 +0000 snowjewelz 2409774@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Boogs: I know.. With traditional PPO for DD, we still paid a lot, so that's why I'm freaking out fully anticipating paying that much with future #2 :shocked: </p> <p>@MamaG: So well put!! It's so true; I never even gave my insurance a 2nd thought when I first started working or even after I got married. I really only started drilling into the details as we started to TTC. </p> <p>@catomd00: Yeah, nowadays I definitely question everything, and annoyed that I have to be on the phone with 5 diff people for 2 hours to fight claims sometimes. They prob get away with so much b/c people don't look at their claims! </p> <p>@Littlebit7: Thanks for sharing!! This is really good insight to how to make this work in your favor! </p> <p>@sunny: Wow, that is just crazy. I totally remember this one time I was fighting a claim and it was all boiled down to which code they put down! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409627 Tue, 05 Jan 2016 06:20:14 +0000 catomd00 2409627@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sunny: yep I work at a hospital and it's literally impossible to find out how much something will boat. It's ridiculous! I know people out there are working on pushing price transparency but it's not anywhere close to being acceptable yet the move to HDHPs and shopping for healthcare is moving at a very fast pace. It's truly maddening! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409600 Tue, 05 Jan 2016 02:33:01 +0000 Boogs 2409600@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sunny: So shady! And it's no joke, it's all about the coders. This is exactly why I scheduled myself a physical, just because I really want to have a problem checked out while I'm at it. It will cost me $40 instead of $400 because I'm playing the damn game right back. </p> <p>I agree with @catomd00: try to get pregnant and give birth in the same year if you can lol. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409491 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 21:57:21 +0000 DesertDreams88 2409491@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've been on a plan like this for 6 years. Even with a pricey emergency room visit last year with a non-network doctor, a pregnancy this year, and a labor/delivery in Jan 2016, I'm still happier with the HSA /HDHP. The lack of premiums, the $1000 contribution from my employer, and the ability to contribute my own income and lower my tax liability are the three main factors in my preference. </p> <p>One thing I didn't learn until this year: the employer contribution counts towards the contribution limit per year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409230 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 19:20:05 +0000 sunny 2409230@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MamaG: Totally agree with you, except that it is impossible to determine how much things will cost. I tried to find out how much my MRI would cost and they basically said "well it depends on what the tech sees, then we would end up having to take more or less images, etc.". </p> <p>The other thing I've read is that the people who do billing will code the procedure to maximize the payout from insurance companies and this will depend on who your insurer is. Then based on your plan benefits you pay some % of that!</p> <p>On another forum I read, one doctor at a large practice said he tried to figure out how much one of his patients pays to see him and he couldn't get a straight answer out of his own billing department! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409221 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 19:12:12 +0000 sunny 2409221@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If I've done my math right, you're looking at:</p> <p>First $4,000 in billed services -- pay at 100% to cover your deductible<br /> Next $80,000 in billed services -- pay at 10%-20% until you hit your OOP max. If everything is coded as "maternity services", then you'd spend need to spend in excess of $80,000 to get to your OOP max. If things are coded at the 20% rate, then you'd need services in excess of $40,000 to hit your OOP max..</p> <p>If you have a normal, uncomplicated delivery, I don't think you'll hit your OOP max. Assuming $10k in billed services, you'll end up paying $4,000 deductible + 10% of $6,000 = $4,600. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409216 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 19:06:54 +0000 Littlebit7 2409216@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have had several plans including our hdhp that we've had for the past 5 years. We love it. Admittedly dh's work funds our hsa to cover a portion of the deductible. We still pay premiums (which are much lower than our old plans). On low health care usage years we end up "making" money as we don't use the contribution from his work and it rolls over. We now have a sizable hsa which would completely cover our OOP max in any given year<br /> It has been a good learning experience. I pay more attention to our bills , what we are charged, errors etc. things are more inexpensive than I thought. For instance I hurt my elbow needed to see a specialist, X-rays etc. I thought that was going to be a $2000 hit to my hsa. Nope. Like $500 total. The negotiated rates with providers are crazy low sometimes. The only time we have met our deductible in 5 years has been the birth of our LO. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409213 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 19:02:14 +0000 catomd00 2409213@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MamaG: totally agree with you, but price transparency in healthcare is still lacking and nowhere near comparable to any other industry. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409208 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 18:51:23 +0000 catomd00 2409208@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@snowjewelz: just make sure you try and have a baby over one plan year so you don't need to pay the deductible or OOP Max twice! But yeah, since you have 10% coinsurance on maternity, you could get close to hitting that 12k...</p> <p>Oh just saw you pay no premiums that is awesome! Definitely worth it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409188 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 18:24:40 +0000 Ms. RV 2409188@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My employer just switched from PPO to HDHP, too. My premium is a lot less, and a lot more preventitive stuff is 100% covered. I paid $350 for my anatomy scan last year, but if I had one now it would be covered 100%. Maybe there are hidden cost savings like this in your HDHP? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409174 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 18:02:13 +0000 Boogs 2409174@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MamaG: 👏🏼 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409173 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 17:59:50 +0000 MamaG 2409173@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>As I like to tell people, these sorts of plans make you realize that you are a consumer in the insurance arena. It makes you more aware of the costs associated and it can drive decision making. Our out of control healthcare in the US didn't get that way by us ALL being conscious consumers. Most of us don't buy new cars on a whim with no research involved, why don't we compare providers and their pricing as well when we are making healthcare decisions. It's a mental shift from the PPO/HMO world. But when you think of how you handle other things in your life that have a $$ impact, you might start to wonder why you never thought of medical/health things in that same regard. Sorry, kicking over my soapbox now.</p> <p>And I feel your pain, my plan is a $4K deductible $6350 OOP Max. And DH Is $1K deductible $3500 OOP for each of the three people on that plan. It blows, but on a "normal" year, we don't come close to those dollars. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409166 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 17:56:04 +0000 Boogs 2409166@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@snowjewelz: Your plan looks like ours. And as a heads up we did meet that max when we had our second child. :( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409134 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 17:23:30 +0000 snowjewelz 2409134@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JenGirl: Yes! That's why I'm thinking it may be worth it after all even if the initial #s look scary. My old plan had 8k as the max OOP. Thanks for putting it this way, esp about using the HSA as almost an investment account tax free! Makes me feel a lot better! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409126 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 17:11:48 +0000 JenGirl 2409126@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Your husband doesn't have to pay a premium for insurance? If so that's pretty awesome. Usually you do and it's significantly cheaper to go with a high deductible plan. </p> <p>My work has options to do a PPO or HSA and it's cheaper for us to do HSA. Even with me being pregnant/having a baby. Check the numbers, it may be cheaper for you as well. </p> <p>Don't let the $12k freak you out. What was the max out of pocket for your old insurance? Often PPO plans are similar or even higher. $4k family deductible isn't bad, especially since his employer is contributing $1000. Plus, that's $1000 in your HSA that is yours to keep for whenever you need it! I love HSAs because it's tax free when used for medical expenses, so it's like getting a ~30% discount on all medical fees. And the money is yours forever so if you don't use it in one year it will accumulate and most plans will let you invest it over a certain amount. Especially if you don't have any medical concerns at this point. </p> <p>It sucks that you weren't given a choice and some people don't like HSAs but I think they're great for basically healthy families. We use our HSA as an investment tool because we figure we'll get sick with something at some point, so why not invest it and let it grow? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409051 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 16:12:30 +0000 KayKay 2409051@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@snowjewelz: if you mostly use the insurance for well-visits and occasional kid sick visit, this plan will probably be cheaper for you because the monthly premium should be lower.</p> <p>Also, I would look at the $12k OOP Max from a glass-half-full angle: that's the most you would have to pay out of pocket next year, even if the worst things happened to you. Chances are good you will come nowhere near that! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409038 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 16:06:05 +0000 Adira 2409038@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@snowjewelz: Our insurance just switched to something like this too, so I totally feel you. And my kids have allergies and asthma, so I'm scared of the upcoming costs! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409022 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 15:51:06 +0000 snowjewelz 2409022@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MaryM: DH's employer pays for our insurance! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409021 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 15:50:21 +0000 MaryM 2409021@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Was your old plan an HSA though?</p> <p>Before you were probably paying several hundred dollars a month for insurance that you basically gambled. You paid the insurance company whether or not you actually used their benefits. With an HSA whatever you put in is held in an account for you to personally use. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/insurance-high-deductible-plans#post-2409020 Mon, 04 Jan 2016 15:50:16 +0000 snowjewelz 2409020@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrs.shinerbock: this was our old insurance. sorry the column that explains what each line is for is on another page haha. we def will be putting money into HSA!</p> <p>ETA: blah pic is too small haha</p> <p>[attach=4482/16/o0g4jt.600x375.Old-Insurance.jpg] </p>