Hellobee Boards

Unless your employer insurance is REALLY bad, I can't imagine that buying your own health insurance would be cheaper overall. I analyze the crap out of everything so I would break down each plan available to me and chart out what my total cost (cost of insurance premiums + out of pocket cost) would be for estimated expenses for the year (I did an estimate for 0-50k). Then you end up with a pretty chart such as the following and can clearly see what plan is the over all lowest cost based on how much you think you will spend.

DH had to do this because he works in food service and the plans offered there are often horrible.

He ended up being with Kaiser. It can be a pain that it's an HMO, but it can also be super handy that everything is all in one place.

@PurplePumps: I buy my own insurance! My DD and I have a plan for $400/month. If we went on my DH's plan, it would be close to $700. My plan is better too. So, sometimes, it's much cheaper to have private insurance.

@mediagirl: Wow that seems like a lot, given that it is an HSA. I'm assuming they don't help fund your account with any money either do they? Oh and don't forget that the $300 opt-out credit is taxable.

We use my husband's plan because a) the employer/ employee split is pretty good although since ACA it went up a ron and b) it's not a high deductible plan. I think we are $150-$175/mo. I'm not even sure what my employer's plan is anymore, but my co-workers all complain the out of pocket costs are crazy before the plan really even kicks in.

$800/ mo just hurts reading it @mediagirl: I would encourage you to see what's out there in the marketplace. There's a good rate for every risk.

DS and I are on a private BCBS plan and will be moving my husband off of the company plan next year. We work for his family's company and the plans are so expensive because it's a small business and very few employees use the company insurance. We still pay close to $800/month for a plan with a $2500 deductible, but moving him onto my plan will save us $100 or so a month. We don't have any real health issues, though.

Luckily the company has a killer dental plan that's cheap, so we lucked out there.

Not sure if I have any advice, but I can commiserate with you on paying a buttload for health insurance.

@wonderstruck: I don't know what I would've done without the ACA this time. I got laid off while 4m pregnant and we had health insurance through my job. The only time the system has ever worked for me!