Insurance Question

numeria11

So I hear on here a lot about the crappy insurance plans people have thru their employers, twatley's for example.  So for those of you will crummy insurance do you work for a really small business or a larger company?  And if your insurance sucks have you said anything to your HR group (assuming you have one)? 

 I ask because my current (new) employer has good insurance it's just ridculously overpriced for the area and their argument is "Well no one ever complains about it so it can't be that bad".  My thought process is most people just accept it because it's the only option available, end on their spouse's insurance or eventually just leave for better benefits and pay.  So for those of you with crummy policies have you spoken up?

[Deleted User]

LOLOL!!!!!!!1

Wine O Mite

I work in a very small office and I sort of spoke up about the deductible and the fact that I had no maternity.

I say "sort of" because it wasn't like I demanded it or anything, but they knew that I was having allergy issues, but I refused the testing because our deductible was so high.  

Same with Maternity.  It just kind of came up and he added it on.  

However, I understand why employers have to make decisions on health insurance.  It's not cheap for them at all.  They are doing a service for their employees. 

ETA:  Just to clarify, I do not pay anything out of my pocket for my coverage.  My boss pays for it all.  He supplies us with our major medical and Rx coverage and nothing else.  I was not covered for Vision or Dental until I married H. 

CoffeeBeen

::cough:: blaming the victim ::cough::

numeria11

CoffeeBeen:

::cough:: blaming the victim ::cough::

Ok to be clear I wasn't I'm actually like the only person in our group who's like "WTF these benefits premiums are absurd."  The response I am getting from the larger HR group is the blame the victim one.  I was then wondering is it just the employees in my groups who don't seem to say anything or if this is more of a widespread issue.  In my experience at my last job (an insurance company) people complained about it all the time but it was an insurance company so you were talking to people who dealt with it all day long.

[Deleted User]

I used to be HR, and we always included the employees in our decision making.  However, there's only so much you can do.  At least involving the employees, they were aware of the position we were in - somewhere between a rock & a hard place.

Luckily, DHs company also does the inclusive process.  The term cost prohibitive comes to mind though.  I mean, it isn't like every single plan is available/affordable & the company intentionally screws you over.  That may be the case sometimes, but it's the minority for sure.

morayme1

twatley:

I work for a small company. When we TTC with Spencer I had no clue that maternity coverage was not included in my benefits. So when I got pregnant and went to make my first appt, I was told that it wasn't covered. Fortunately, I was able to be added to my husband's group plan, since group coverage cannot consider pregnancy pre-existing.

As soon as I delivered, I was dropped from my husband's plan.

Now I have another insurance plan through my job that covers Spencer & I. Again, we don't have maternity benefits. I'm just really, really lucky that the first time I was able to be added to my husband's plan, because having Spencer would have bankrupted us.

No, I haven't complained because it would be a wasted effort. My company is just lucky to be in business at this point. I'm fortunate to have a job at all.  

It wouldn't have bankrupted you. Hospitals will work out payment plans with you..you wouldn't have to declare bankruptcy and screw people over. Also, I am sure I don't need to point out that you should have known your insurance coverages before you got pregnant?

Personal responsibility people, it's awesome.

numeria11

twatley:

I work for a small company. When we TTC with Spencer I had no clue that maternity coverage was not included in my benefits. So when I got pregnant and went to make my first appt, I was told that it wasn't covered. Fortunately, I was able to be added to my husband's group plan, since group coverage cannot consider pregnancy pre-existing.

As soon as I delivered, I was dropped from my husband's plan.

Now I have another insurance plan through my job that covers Spencer & I. Again, we don't have maternity benefits. I'm just really, really lucky that the first time I was able to be added to my husband's plan, because having Spencer would have bankrupted us.

No, I haven't complained because it would be a wasted effort. My company is just lucky to be in business at this point. I'm fortunate to have a job at all.  

No I get that, I came from two seperate companies that were dying while I was there.  I completely get that you don't exactly get to say "hey give me xy or z' in that situation and I know how much it sucks because as much as you need it you also need the company to survive so you have a check.  GL and I hope things get better at your job so they can figure out how to improve things for all of you.

morayme1

twatley:

morayme1:

twatley:

I work for a small company. When we TTC with Spencer I had no clue that maternity coverage was not included in my benefits. So when I got pregnant and went to make my first appt, I was told that it wasn't covered. Fortunately, I was able to be added to my husband's group plan, since group coverage cannot consider pregnancy pre-existing.

As soon as I delivered, I was dropped from my husband's plan.

Now I have another insurance plan through my job that covers Spencer & I. Again, we don't have maternity benefits. I'm just really, really lucky that the first time I was able to be added to my husband's plan, because having Spencer would have bankrupted us.

No, I haven't complained because it would be a wasted effort. My company is just lucky to be in business at this point. I'm fortunate to have a job at all.  

It wouldn't have bankrupted you. Hospitals will work out payment plans with you..you wouldn't have to declare bankruptcy and screw people over. Also, I am sure I don't need to point out that you should have known your insurance coverages before you got pregnant?

Personal responsibility people, it's awesome.

Nope. You don't need to point that out. It was incredibly stupid of me to not check into it. The thought seriously never even occurred to me that when paying $250 per month to insurance that maternity care wouldn't be covered under the plan. It was really foolish and I'm incredibly grateful that our situation was resolved.

And by bankrupted, I mean, we would have lost everything. We never could have even afforded the prenatal doctor's visits out of pocket, let alone the hospital bill. Which is why we would have likely terminated the pregnancy.

You can make payments, all you have to do is be open and honest with the doctor office and hospital. And there aren't "prenatal doctors visits" as costs, it's usually just one blanket cost, that again, you could make payments for.

CoffeeBeen

My DH is on the committee that negotiates health insurance for employees. A few years ago the employer hired a big consulting firm that projected health care costs would rise 12%.  The employer used this info to argue that employees would have to pay more of their share.  Flash forward a few years, the committee calculated the actual rise over the same period:  3%. 

You've got to fight just to stay in the same place these days.

morayme1

twatley:

morayme1:

You can make payments, all you have to do is be open and honest with the doctor office and hospital. And there aren't "prenatal doctors visits" as costs, it's usually just one blanket cost, that again, you could make payments for.

Dude. I had to pay my doctor's office $200 per month WITH insurance. I have no clue how much that would have been per month without insurance. The point is, I couldn't afford to pay out of pocket to have a kid. I'm sorry, but we just can't. Which is why we aren't having another kid. Or at least not without maternity coverage. 

ETA: with insurance, we still owed over $5,000 out of pocket. 

You should call your dr office and find out how much prenatal care is. $200 a month with insurance does not sound right AT ALL.

Wine O Mite

morayme1:

twatley:

morayme1:

You can make payments, all you have to do is be open and honest with the doctor office and hospital. And there aren't "prenatal doctors visits" as costs, it's usually just one blanket cost, that again, you could make payments for.

Dude. I had to pay my doctor's office $200 per month WITH insurance. I have no clue how much that would have been per month without insurance. The point is, I couldn't afford to pay out of pocket to have a kid. I'm sorry, but we just can't. Which is why we aren't having another kid. Or at least not without maternity coverage. 

ETA: with insurance, we still owed over $5,000 out of pocket. 

You should call your dr office and find out how much prenatal care is. $200 a month with insurance does not sound right AT ALL.

You do realize that not all insurance coverage is equal?   

 

 

numeria11

Wine O Mite:

morayme1:

twatley:

morayme1:

You can make payments, all you have to do is be open and honest with the doctor office and hospital. And there aren't "prenatal doctors visits" as costs, it's usually just one blanket cost, that again, you could make payments for.

Dude. I had to pay my doctor's office $200 per month WITH insurance. I have no clue how much that would have been per month without insurance. The point is, I couldn't afford to pay out of pocket to have a kid. I'm sorry, but we just can't. Which is why we aren't having another kid. Or at least not without maternity coverage. 

ETA: with insurance, we still owed over $5,000 out of pocket. 

You should call your dr office and find out how much prenatal care is. $200 a month with insurance does not sound right AT ALL.

You do realize that not all insurance coverage is equal?   

This and not all doctor's do a blanket billing system either.  My first ob was a pay per visit OB + the charges for labor and delivery.  Oh and dont forget the 5 sonograms I needed as well.  Yeah each of those bad boys set me back about 300 bucks AFTER insurance, the one my insurance almost didnt pay for because it was coded incorrectly would have been 1200 bucks.