31–40 of 129 posts
My 2 cents after having worked for a huge company and now working at a small company.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
A very reasonable thing to do is ask for a higher salary and no company insurance. You end up paying a premium (because the extra salary gets hit by income tax, while if the company had used it to buy insurance it would not have been subject to income tax), but you get to choose your own insurance and it doesn't stop when you leave.
In the US this doesn't make sense (for most people), unfortunately. Employers offer group plans which tend to be much cheaper and offer substantially better benefits than individual plans. The larger the company, the better the arrangement tends to be. COBRA is designed to fill in that coverage gap when you leave, but as others have noted in this thread, it is not always economical.
Naturally, he is very disappointed but he should keep things in perspective. It's not that bad of situation to be in. You have 15 years of software development experience at Microsoft and there are going to be a lot of open doors. This could really be blessing in disguise.
Except every interviewer will be wondering why did Microsoft let go someone with so much experience. What did Microsoft know that's not on the resume.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
COBRA rates are 3-4x higher than individual plan insurance every time I've heard about them. In a rapid-churn economy like tech, where people often strike out on their own and companies cease to exist etc., the few $K a year it takes to maintain your own individual plan is something everyone should consider. As you age, starting a new private plan becomes frighteningly expensive, and if ACA doesn't stick, it may beco…
At various times, I've used COBRA, I've had individual plans, and I've had group plans for which I've paid the full premium. I've never seen a difference of anywhere remotely close to 3-4x for COBRA versus an equivalent individual plan.
Couldn't find any good data but here's a post representative of the top few google hits for COBRA vs. private:
http://www.mymoneyblog.com/unemployed-cobra-vs-individual-he...
Honest question as a Canadian - what do you do about health insurance when you're 50 and get fired from your lifer job? Should you really have been paying for your own policy in parallel with your employer's so that you can continue with the low premiums post-employment?
I'm from Europe (Germany). Worried about insurance for your kid? Can't happen here, the government will deal with that. Losing your job? Get paid for one or two years by your work insurance. After that you fall back to a free basic income (for as long as you need). And still this system is generally not exploited: People work hard here. And it's not just unemployment. There are people begging for money on HN regularl…
Only "god" knows for sure, but I have a strong suspicion you answered your own question, at least in part:
> And still this system is generally not exploited: People work hard here.
Naturally, he is very disappointed but he should keep things in perspective. It's not that bad of situation to be in. You have 15 years of software development experience at Microsoft and there are going to be a lot of open doors. This could really be blessing in disguise.
Except every interviewer will be wondering why did Microsoft let go someone with so much experience. What did Microsoft know that's not on the resume.
As an interviewer assessing a candidate, I would like to believe that I'm thoughtful enough to see that corporations lay people off for any number reasons. The macro-scale conditions at Microsoft likely have no bearing on the candidate's quality.
Imagine if the candidate were from RIM. We'd hardly question the reality that RIM has to lay off people, many of whom are competent.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
These days you go to your state exchange (for the putative ex-MS person, that's likely to be https://www.wahealthplanfinder.org/ ), search for a plan, click on it and sign up. It used to be worse, of course. But even then it wasn't a disaster for the case at hand: the COBRA act allowed you to continue to buy your existing plan at the same premiums for a year and a half until you found a new job.
COBRA is impossibly expensive for many people. When you simultaneously have your salary drop to $0 and your portions of your insurance premiums triple (say, if you have a spouse and kids covered by the plan), that's a rough situation to be in. About the only good thing about COBRA is that it covers preexisting conditions.
When you're a COBRA customer you're basically on your own. Good luck getting them to pay up on anything.
Can we have a single-payer system now? Please?
Honest question as a Canadian - what do you do about health insurance when you're 50 and get fired from your lifer job? Should you really have been paying for your own policy in parallel with your employer's so that you can continue with the low premiums post-employment?
I'm from Europe (Germany). Worried about insurance for your kid? Can't happen here, the government will deal with that. Losing your job? Get paid for one or two years by your work insurance. After that you fall back to a free basic income (for as long as you need). And still this system is generally not exploited: People work hard here. And it's not just unemployment. There are people begging for money on HN regularl…
After hearing this stuff for half a year I am really glad to be back in Germany. I am funemployed since a few months and I pay 150 euro per month. Next week I have an appointment at the doctor because of my severe hip problems. I might get some xrays done and perhaps some MRT. What will this cost me? Nothing! I am so glad that I live in a deeply communist country...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
COBRA is impossibly expensive for many people. When you simultaneously have your salary drop to $0 and your portions of your insurance premiums triple (say, if you have a spouse and kids covered by the plan), that's a rough situation to be in. About the only good thing about COBRA is that it covers preexisting conditions.
It's impossibly expensive because US health insurance is impossibly expensive. It's not like there's a significant extra cost associated with going with COBRA versus an equivalent individual policy. And prior to the start of this year, you might not be able to get an equivalent individual policy at any price. If you had any pre-existing conditions at all, then you definitely would not be able to get equivalent covera…
And US health insurance is impossibly expensive because US health delivery is impossibly expensive. I believe 75% of the real US problem is not insurance, it is the cost of delivery.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
COBRA is impossibly expensive for many people. When you simultaneously have your salary drop to $0 and your portions of your insurance premiums triple (say, if you have a spouse and kids covered by the plan), that's a rough situation to be in. About the only good thing about COBRA is that it covers preexisting conditions.
The other problem with COBRA is that the insurance company has zero interest in customer service. Insurance companies are famously horrible to deal with, but if your employer's plan gives you trouble you'll probably complain to HR. If they get enough complaints, they could lose the contract next time around. They have at least some incentive to keep you happy (or at least non-furious) When you're a COBRA customer you…