anyone purchase their own health care?

daniella2727

I am considering leaving my job and becoming a SAHM. The main concern is my husband is self- employed so our health care is covered through my job. If I were to come home we would have to purchase our own. I want to start to research my options and would like to hear from others who may have done this.

Thanks!

kcisthebombdotcom

I did for a while. It really wasn't as unaffordable as I thought-it was 50 a week for decent coverage. i was also under 30, a nonsmoker, average weight, in overall good health, etc so that factors into it. I also was the only one on the plan as dh was covered elsewhere. If you're trying to privately insure a whole family, someone is older and/or not healthy that's going to impact the rate.

notkateanymore

Isn't maternity coverage extremely expensive? If you plan on having more kids, you might want to think about that.

daniella2727

I am trying to insure a whole family but we are all healthy. My only concern is that I had childhood/young adult ashmta - I assume I grew out of it bc I have not even had an inhaler or suffered from an attack in 10+ years.

Anyhow, do you remember how/where you purchased your plan?

kcisthebombdotcom

You can go to ehealthinsurance.com and compare rates.

lightgetsin

We had bcbs at one time because DH was self employed. I think it was $600/ month for our family but that was only 2 kids (now there are 4). It did not include maternity care and from what I remember it had high copays and deductible.

lightgetsin

KC_13 said:

You can go to ehealthinsurance.com and compare rates.

this is where we found our insurance too.

AmeliaKris

Dh was self employed. When I lost my benefits at work, he switched jobs to get benefits. I don't know your financial situation, but our kids qualified for state insurance for working families. Its called hawki here. Its $20 per kid per month not to exceed $40. Then you could look at adult plus one rates...

Mama-Bear

We're in the process of getting Anthen BCBS (I need to send them my medical records) and we'll be paying $248/mo for our family of 5.  None of us are smokers or have any pre-existing conditions.  We'll have no co-pay, preventative care (well visits) will be covered at 100%, and we'll have an $11k deductible for sick visits.  We went with their cheapest plan.  We weren't sure if it was possible, but we were ok with up to a $50k deductible, we just wanted protection from some catastrophic event so we wouldn't be bankrupted (my bio-dad was in a car accident and spent 2m in the hospital, 1 of those 2 months was in ICU), can't even imagine how much that bill was/is.  We have no dental or vision, just basic medical.

ETA:  We have no maternity coverage.

littlemermaid

We have our own health insurance.  It's through BCBS.  What I recommend is to get yourself a health insurance agent/broker.  They can search insurances that meet your families needs and usually have better rates than einsurance. 

nosoup4u

CnAmom said:

Isn't maternity coverage extremely expensive? If you plan on having more kids, you might want to think about that.

Why yes. Yes it is.

I think it'll change a bit with Obamacare coming into effect, though: 

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/06/pregnant-and-due-after-jan-1-your-delivery-will-be-covered/index.htm?loginMethod=auto

OP - can you wait a bit before quitting? I would definitely factor in having more kids into the equation. 

jillyjill1026sr

It's cheaper to buy my own/DD's own vs. being added to H's work plan. Does maternity coverage mean parental care? If so, insurance companies are now required to provide the services for free, so you shouldn't have to worry about paying extra if you plan on becoming pregnant again. What state are you in? I purchase through Kaiser, but we have a lot of options here in CA. You can use Google to try to find an insurance company or an insurance broker who can help point you in the right direction.

kcisthebombdotcom

Mama-Bear said:

We're in the process of getting Anthen BCBS (I need to send them my medical records) and we'll be paying $248/mo for our family of 5.  None of us are smokers or have any pre-existing conditions.  We'll have no co-pay, preventative care (well visits) will be covered at 100%, and we'll have an $11k deductible for sick visits.  We went with their cheapest plan.  We weren't sure if it was possible, but we were ok with up to a $50k deductible, we just wanted protection from some catastrophic event so we wouldn't be bankrupted (my bio-dad was in a car accident and spent 2m in the hospital, 1 of those 2 months was in ICU), can't even imagine how much that bill was/is.  We have no dental or vision, just basic medical.

ETA:  We have no maternity coverage.

$248 for a family of 5 with no co-pays? Ours has a $750 deductible though.

It's a catastrophic plan only. A copay is better than having to pay for 100% of the medical bill.

notkateanymore

I really hate the term Obamacare.

lexusolsen

We did it two years ago. It was $400 a month for the three of us. DH and I were both overweight and I had maternity coverage. We had a $40 copay. I took dd in for an ear infection. $40 copay $10 prescription.She had an allergic reaction to the medication. Another $ 40 copay and $10 for another prescription.

Of course it was worth it but I can't imagine that it would be cost effective with multiple children.

daniella2727

Maternity care and mental health care (which includes if your child has adhd) will be covered in plans automatically come Jan 2014. I called today (einsurance) and the best plan for us is -

$575 per month for a family of 4
$5K deductible
$30 co pays
no co-insurance after the deductible, meaning insurance than covers it all