Is $1600/mo extreme for health insurance?

Question

We pay 1600/mo in health insurance and average about 200/mo in perscription co-pays. How does this stack up to others? What options do I have if this is all I can get from my employer?

Answer 1

Well, truthfully, it depends on your family's medical history.  (I'm assuming that you have a family plan.)

I've seen policies that actually cost more than that, but those were for high risk individuals who had no way of obtaining other coverage.  Those plans ran about $20-25K per year.  (note - the people who tended to enroll in those policies were people who had catastrophic conditions that required care...hemophiliacs, cancer patients, etc.  Compared to the cost of their medical expenses, $20-25K in premiums was still a somewhat better deal.)

$1,600K would be high for a relatively healthy family's premium.  If anyone in your family is unhealthy though, its not that high.  (And I presume at least one person in your family is unhealthy, if you have $200 a month in prescription copays.)

You can always try getting quotes from a local agent.  However, if someone in your family is seriously ill, you may not even have the option to purchase another policy.

P.S.  If you haven't tried it already, I'd suggest looking into as many generic medications as possible and see if you can get the ones on the $4 list from various pharmacies.  (WalMart, Kroger, Giant Eagle, etc.)  That could help reduce your $200/month Rx cost somewhat.

Answer 2

I think so.  $200 to $250 a month is probably the average for a family.   An employeer typically pays half to 3/4 of the actual monthly premiums.  The exception I can think of, is if you have an extremely expensive medical condition which drastically increases your liability.  However, i doubt that is a factor under an employee group plan.

Answer 3

$1600 - is way too much.

Try this one - http://healthplans.my-age.net - my family have their health insurance - it is affordable and has good coverage for dental issues.

As I know they can provide coverage with preexisting condition.

Answer 4

Well, if you're looking for private coverage, a family plan with maternity is going to cost almost that.  But the real question is, what is/are the pre-existing conditions.  

Because in the real world, an insurance company won't write you if you have some pre-existing conditions, or they won't cover those conditions.

In other words, if you're on a group plan now, or an individual plan, if you shop for a new health insurance from a local agent, I think you'll find out your deal isn't so bad, after all.  I suspect your current plan is paying out, based on your copays, almost the whole amount they're taking in, just for prescription coverage.  Most insurance companies won't want to take that on.

Answer 5

You must be real sick to have $200 a month in copays for prescriptions.

Answer 6

How many people are in your family? HMO? PPO?

I am single....but I only pay $46.00 a month for a HMO!

And a PPO plan is about $75.00 a month!

Answer 7

Are you for real?!

Answer 8

You'd be amazed to know just how common a situation like this is. I personally never realized how terrible the health insurance industry truly was until a little over 2 years ago when I found Ameriplan as I searched for insurance and found that we couldn't even afford the monthly fees.

It's like many people pay all they have for their monthly cost for insurance, and then on top of that there are huge deductibles or co-pays that come into play. Along with services that are not covered, or meds, etc.

I know all too well what it's like. I speak with people on a daily basis & hear story after story of what they have had to face in this regards. It's awful, but there are options and ways to help you get what you need, and still not break the bank in the end.

I'm not sure what sort of health status, etc. your family is in, nor the details of your situation. But if you'd like to see if I can help you possible find some way or options that may be able to help, just send me a note through my profile here and we can see what we can do.

Good Luck!