[sitetest]

Dear gridlock,

“You wonder how the Frosts would be able to spend over $1200 a month to procure Health Insurance.”

Mr. Frost owns a small business, and he would be eligible for small group insurance in Maryland.

My own small business has small group insurance in Maryland. We have Health Savings Accounts combined with deductibles and co-pays. My own plan has a $2,400 per year per family deductible, with a 10% co-pay up until I’ve paid $6,800 out of pocket. My plan costs me over $10,000 per year. It’s a PPO, and thus, although the out-of-pocket costs are not insubstantial, and the premiums are high, it is a very, very good plan. I thank God for it, as my younger son just spent 11 days in Johns Hopkins for a very serious condition. Because we have a very good policy, no one ever asked us about 1) money 2) in-network vs. out-of-network 3) less costly diagnostic or treatment options mandated by the insurance company 4) referrals from primary care providers.

But even our least expensive family HMO, with a $4,000 per year initial deductible, runs about $8,000 per year.

Mr. Frost could obtain the same insurance that I have, but the costs would vary, depending on his age band. Our average age is just over 40, and thus, we’re in the 40 - 42 (or is it 40 - 41?) age band.

If his age band is higher, he could easily be looking at $1,000 per month or more for my policy. If it’s lower, then less.

As well, if he and his wife would be the only two covered employees, it would be necessary to take out a policy for one of them with the children, and for one of them as a single individual, since small group policies require at least two covered persons. That would bring costs up to close to around $800 per month even for a high-deductible restrictive HMO policy, at least for my company.

The equivalent non-HSA, no-high deductible policy that I could have obtained would have run about $1,500 per month.

sitetest

[mewzilla]

Mr. Frost owns a small business, and he would be eligible for small group insurance in Maryland.

If the Frosts just wanted to cover the kids, why not enroll them in MD's SCHIP program?

IIRC, the state does not require that an asset test be met in order to cover kids.

[gridlock]

If it were up to me, I think I would get the HMO for half-price.

[Aquinasfan]

Because we have a very good policy, no one ever asked us about 1) money 2) in-network vs. out-of-network 3) less costly diagnostic or treatment options

To kind of change the subject, a big reason for rising healthcare costs is that all medical procedures are paid for by third parties. There is very little incentive to reduce costs.

What other common service do people purchase without asking about cost?