What is the average employee portion of a health insurance policy?

Question

What percentage of the health insurance costs do most companies cover (I recognize that this can vary greatly, but I am looking for general numbers)?

For Cigna - what is the average monthly cost for a family consisting of parents and one child (likewise, I recognize that this can vary greatly - I am just trying to get a ballpark figure)?

I ask these as my current employer (250+ people) is offering Cigna insurance for about $750 a month which covers my wife, myself and my daughter. They claim to be covering 50% of the health insurance plan, but I am having a hard time buying the explanation that health insurance is just expensive...especially as my sister and brother are paying $50-70 a month for individual insurance. I do not want to have to go and get a quote somewhere and can not find a site that has general information like this - any thoughts, advice, sources of information would be welcome!

Answer 1

The employer picks their contribution when they sign up for the group policy.  Employers used to cover 100% of the employee costs, but in recent years insurance premiums have skyrocketed, so the employer has had to rethink that policy.  I would say most cover 100% of the employee premiums, but the employee is responsible for their spouse and childrens' portion.  We have a few that cover 50% of the employee cost again letting the employee pay for their own family.  

My guess is that your employer is probably covering  50% of the employee portion and you are responsible for the rest.  Honestly the price isn't that far out of line considering that it probably includes pregnancy.

Another thing that might be driving the price is that family includes child or children, not such a good deal because you only have a daughter, but probably the guy with six kids and a spouse is paying the same price, great deal for them.

Answer 2

If they are saying $750 is the cost for half of the coverage for your family, that doesn't seem too far off.  I work in the NYC area, and two of our health plans' TOTAL monthly premium is OVER $1,500 per month for family coverage.  (These carriers are HealthNet and Empire BC/BS HMO).

Are you in a union?  My experience is that unions can be very secretive on what the costs of their plans are.  I'm just trying to figure out why your company won't give you the info on what a full premium costs.