insurance coverage question

alibee09

Say you and your spouse work for companies that both offer insurance either as emp, emp+1, or emp+family. How do you insure if you have multiple kids? Do you both go emp+family, does one of you not insure through their company at all, or what?

Mrs.BoomBoom

We run the numbers and see which works best.

I have emp+family (it's free) and DH carries emp only (it's free) so, DH is double insured and Q and I are only insured under me.  If DH had to pay for his coverage for himself, we'd just insure him through my plan (since it's cheaper)

The one thing I find is that if you're going to duplicate coverage, it's best to do it under the same company (Kaiser for both instead of Kaiser+BCBS) so they don't argue over billing.

Smuches4u

We compare the premiums (bi-weekly check deductions) and deductibles in addition to services offered.

In the past few years, DH had the better deal.  His premium for Emp+Fam was WAY lower than mine, even lower than my Emp+Child(ren) & his ded was comparable to mine.  So he carried the family and I kept my coverage with my employer (so I had $0 copay).

Last year, his employer merged with another company and their Premiums and Deductible amounts were raised.  My employer got a better deal because it separated in two and my rates got lower.

He carries Emp Only now and rarely uses his coverage.  I carry Emp+Child(ren).

ETA:  Our open enrollments are at different times of year, so this was sort of a head scratcher until his employer agreed that a change in coverage was a qualifying event and allowed him to change mid-year.

NCSW

We're encountering this right now with DH's new job. So he's going to do Emp+family to insure the kids. 

I have free insurance through my work, so I'll be double covered. This should work well since my copays for my work insurance are really high right now. 

m&m818

We only insure through one (mine) for emp+family. The coverage, regardless of price per month is better than I've seen at the last couple of jobs DH has had. At one point DH's vision/dental was better through his company so we did health care through mine and vision/dental through his but recently my company stepped up to the plate and offered a better package so we switched back. I prefer to work with just one company/benefit package and one enrollment period

alibee09

Microsoft carries their own insurance so, since it's been free for me to do emp+family (as long as anyone who had available coverage took it, meaning my husband had emp), I've always double-insured. Now, his company, being in the health care sector, actually seems to be providing better benefits than my (new) company; at least, for a significantly reduced amount (his emp+family is about 180 where mine is 330 for PPO). So I'm considering just being on his insurance but OMG it seems totally strange being dependent on someone else who isn't my parent for coverage. I've always carried my own. EEK!

NCSW

alibee09:

Microsoft carries their own insurance so, since it's been free for me to do emp+family (as long as anyone who had available coverage took it, meaning my husband had emp), I've always double-insured. Now, his company, being in the health care sector, actually seems to be providing better benefits than my (new) company; at least, for a significantly reduced amount (his emp+family is about 180 where mine is 330 for PPO). So I'm considering just being on his insurance but OMG it seems totally strange being dependent on someone else who isn't my parent for coverage. I've always carried my own. EEK!

That makes sense. Here's a relevant question I've always wondered about: If for some reason your DH lost the job or coverage, would you be able to add you all back onto your insurance or would you have to wait for open enrollment?? I assume there's some kind of exception for the situation? 

alibee09

NCSW:

That makes sense. Here's a relevant question I've always wondered about: If for some reason your DH lost the job or coverage, would you be able to add you all back onto your insurance or would you have to wait for open enrollment?? I assume there's some kind of exception for the situation? 

Yup, that's considered a life-change event. Thank goodness, too, because my benefits end literally on my last day of employment and baby M never was added to B's insurance, so they're going to add him on that day as a life-change event so he has no lapses in coverage. Other things that would count are marriage, divorce, death, and birth.

futrkingsley

We currently have Emp+family through my employer, including dental and vision for all three of us.  DH also carries dental through his employer for himself to bring his out of pocket cost to zero.  DH's employer typically offers really bare bones plans for employees and charges quite a bit extra to cover their dependents. DH's employer plan won't offer dental coverage to anyone who has it through their own employer but will allow him to be double covered.

My employer offers robust coverage and charges nothing to cover dependents. 

maryh01

We are all covered through DH for free, but I HAVE to take my coverage (no opt out option) AND I have to pay for it...super sucky.  So, not by choice, but I'm double covered (both Kaiser) and DH and J are just on his plan.  

Also, from what I understand, Kaiser will not cover you if you are covered under another provider.  I tried to take the lowest plan possible from my employer (which was not a Kaiser plan) and they told me that I wouldn't be covered under my husband's Kaiser plan if I did that.  Basically, the Kaiser coverage would become void if I were covered elsewhere. 

DH has an opt out option on his, but mine would cost us an arm and a leg to cover the entire family.