Comments on: Thing I Do Right: Have Health Insurance

By: Jenna Quaranta@facebook

Jenna Quaranta@facebook — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 21:51:20 +0000

@Ben E. Fitz Hey! On the off-chance you will see this, I am a little confused.
Okay, Logan has a $5,000 deductible. Does this mean if she goes to the doctor, pays her $30 copay, does that mean she has to pay the $90 or whatever that the doctor appointment costs because she hasn’t reached $5,000 first? Thanks!

By: Ben E. Fitz

Ben E. Fitz — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 03:54:08 +0000

@Pete: Happy to help! and please, call me Ben

By: DillyBean

DillyBean — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 02:12:43 +0000

@ru_ri Health care spending accounts are the best!

@Everyone Take advantage of your HSA account (sometimes HCSA) if it’s available! You want to budget conservatively, since you can’t get the money back, but it means that co-pays, transportation to doctor’s offices, glasses, prescription sunglasses, the dental stuff that isn’t covered by my dental insurance because dental insurance blows, all that stuff is at basically a 30% discount because the money isn’t taxed.

By: Pete Quinn@twitter

Pete Quinn@twitter — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:58:42 +0000

@Ben E. Fitz You’re a mensch. I feel much more equipped to live as a grown-ass person now. Thank you so much.

By: Brenna Foster@facebook

Brenna Foster@facebook — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:19:20 +0000

@Redacted Yeah, 380 a month is double what Logan said she is paying. I have looked into the freelaancers union, too, but it seems so absurdly expensive! 380/month is 4560/year which is a huge percentage of some people’s income. That’s like half a month of rent. For some people. …

By: Redacted

Redacted — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:24:23 +0000

@Brenna Foster@facebook Depending on where you live and what type of job you do, the Freelancers Union is cheaper than others and they’ve always done well by me. I think I pay around $380/month in New York State.

That sounds so sad thinking about it now, though.

By: Redacted

Redacted — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:17:25 +0000

@Pete Quinn@twitter A deductible is basically the minimum amount that you’re responsible for paying for before your insurance kicks in. So, for example, Logan has a $5,000 deductible, so if she has a hospital visit that costs $7,000, she pays for the first 5K and then insurance pays for the balance. Higher deductibles = cheaper insurance, because they pay for less. My impression is that most work-sponsored health insurance plans have a much lower deductible, but I would not know about that.

Okay so someone fill me in on the Out of Pocket Limit now..

By: Donovan Gentry@twitter

Donovan Gentry@twitter — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:48:29 +0000

@jane lane I pay about $460 a month. Through work. For just me. Yippee

By: ru_ri

ru_ri — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:01:14 +0000

I have a high-deductible plan like Logan, but it also allows me to open an HSA, which is a bank account into which I can put money, tax-free, to cover the things I pay for before I reach my deductible. This means that as long as I document my expenses, the part of my income I use to pay for my health care (including chiropractic) is not taxed. And also, thanks to the Affordable Health Care Act or whatever it’s called (which my state representative is for some reason trying like mad to get rid of, the asswaffle) I get annual checkups absolutely free.

By: cmcm

cmcm — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:42:24 +0000

I would just like to say that as someone living in the UK this conversation baffles me a little bit. Universal free healthcare for all!