Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier
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Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier
#2I was just thinking the other day. Every job I've had has offered health insurance through the state BCBS. Those plans are ways a little over $100/m (for a single worker)
Meanwhile, I've had people brag to me about paying $10/ for damn to near full coverage. I'm starting to wonder if BCBS employer plans are just garbage
Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier
#3My BCBS plan has a $4,000 deductible per insured person per year.
Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier
#4Does anyone know the extent to which this is happening faster or slower than the background increase of medical care costs? I know that historically medical care costs have been outpacing inflation. So it's not altogether surprising that, in an unsubsidized environment, the costs to the end-user of that care would also increase, by roughly the same amount.
Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier
#5The sooner we can completely divorce healthcare from employment, the better.
Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier
#6I was just thinking the other day. Every job I've had has offered health insurance through the state BCBS. Those plans are ways a little over $100/m (for a single worker) Meanwhile, I've had people brag to me about paying $10/ for damn to near full coverage. I'm starting to wonder if BCBS employer plans are just garbage
BCBS often just administers the plan that the employer offers.
The statistical value of single insurance (Basic ACA) for 1 year is north of $10,000, so $1200 has the employer picking up most of the tab still.
Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier
#7I was just thinking the other day. Every job I've had has offered health insurance through the state BCBS. Those plans are ways a little over $100/m (for a single worker) Meanwhile, I've had people brag to me about paying $10/ for damn to near full coverage. I'm starting to wonder if BCBS employer plans are just garbage
The average health insurance monthly premium for individuals is a couple hundred dollars ($321 in 2017 per https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/23/heres-how-much-the-average-a... ; it'll be higher now). $10 or $100/month both mean the employer is chipping in a bunch, they're subsidized via the exchange due to low income, or they've got absolutely garbage coverage that won't actually pay for anything significant.
This is why the linkage to employers for coverage is so insidious - it hides the true cost of the system in lowered salaries. People look at an unsubsidized exchange plan like mine, with its $2,144/month premiums, and go "holy shit, I only pay $10/month for mine at work, that's horrible!"
Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier
#8I was just thinking the other day. Every job I've had has offered health insurance through the state BCBS. Those plans are ways a little over $100/m (for a single worker) Meanwhile, I've had people brag to me about paying $10/ for damn to near full coverage. I'm starting to wonder if BCBS employer plans are just garbage
In a lot of instances, the employers subsidize some or all of the premiums. BCBS has a lot of different plan structures too, depending on the size of the organization or association involved in purchasing the policies.
Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier
#9I was just thinking the other day. Every job I've had has offered health insurance through the state BCBS. Those plans are ways a little over $100/m (for a single worker) Meanwhile, I've had people brag to me about paying $10/ for damn to near full coverage. I'm starting to wonder if BCBS employer plans are just garbage
The average health insurance monthly premium for individuals is a couple hundred dollars ($321 in 2017 per https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/23/heres-how-much-the-average-a... ; it'll be higher now). $10 or $100/month both mean the employer is chipping in a bunch, they're subsidized via the exchange due to low income, or they've got absolutely garbage coverage that won't actually pay for anything significant. This is why…
I was just looking up individual insurance rates the other day. You can probably find health insurance for $321/mo, and really don't cover all that much outside of catastrophic problems. If you want decent coverage you're looking at $600-$1000+/mo.
Re: Employer health plans are getting pricier and skimpier
#10Yep, and what people don't always realize is that because employer health plans get more expensive every year for employers, it negatively impacts wage growth. You are paying for it even if you don't necessarily feel it.