How much do you pay for health care?

I thought they drank too much beer one night and their "quick party" suddenly became a country after leasing some land from the nearby moose herd.
Deciding to dispose of the troublesome locals with no talent by sending them all South was a low blow though. Surely there is vast tundra far up north where they could have sent Nickleback.

 

Well then let's just call you "Lucky Lindy."

 

My new job it will cost me about $400 a month

 

I've tried to wrap my head around the American health care system a few times, but i'm always astonished when my American friends tell me how much they have to pay.

All of my doctor and hospital visits are paid by the government.

I just checked my paystub, and I pay a total of about $30 bi-weekly for the following: Basic life insurance, Dental (they cover a percentage, not sure at the moment what that is), Long term disability, Medical (they cover a percentage of prescriptions), and Travel Insurance. My employer does chip in so my plan doesn't cost me as much as it would for someone who was self-employed, for example. I am lucky to have this, because I know not everyone does, but it is pretty common for full time employees. My partner's employer pays 100% of her health plan, and her plan better than mine, so sometimes I use her's (i'm covered on her plan as well) to pay the percentage of dental that my plan doesn't pay. (I tried to opt-out of my plan at work but they do not allow it, and I have to exhaust my plan before I apply under her's).

I do believe we pay more taxes here in Canada (than the US), but when I think about what we get from it, I don't mind so much.

 

My SO's health is a big bucket of uncontrolled chaos and she has to deal with a new ailment (anything minor to major) every 1-2 weeks, so I went all-out on her international medical coverage when she got here. It has already proven extremely useful.

Since I've enrolled as a student last year, I have been benefiting from heavily subsidized local coverage which I thankfully haven't yet had to make use of. In total, the both of us pay roughly US$ 7k per year.

 

California just posted its rates for insurance companies offering coverage to the uninsured through the new Insurance Exchange:

California is significant because it has the largest number of uninsured in the country -- nearly 1/5th of non-elderly Californians have no insurance.

When implementation begins next year, the uninsured across the country are likely to see choices that, for the first time, will offer affordable plans with little restriction.

On the other hand, in the short term, the vast majority who receive their insurance through employer are not likely to see much in terms of cost savings but will see significant new protections.

The ultimate success of the ACA will depend on technical amendments to follow after implementation, a practice common with comprehensive laws, to address shortcomings and/or unanticipated consequences.....unless the Republicans choose to block any attempt to make the law even stronger.

 

From what I've read there will be no alterations to the ACA despite both parties realizing that they are necessary.
The Dems are afraid to bring it up again, and the Republicans in the House will take any opportunity to try to repeal the whole thing, or to make it crash and burn. They will not pass legislation to help with implementation no matter how sensible or necessary it may be.

 

Having failed 37 times to repeal it, the conservative strategy now is to attempt to gut it.

A sad commentary on putting ideology over the best interests of those in need among us....or anything to prevent even the possibility of an Obama success.

 

There is so much they could be doing to improve things, and help implement the ACA to help the vast majority of Americans.

I just did my open enrollment. My company now offers an HSA (that is mine) that they will put $28.12 into each bi-monthly paycheck. My premiums are $32.14. So, it means that I only really pay $8.04 a month, if you consider that my HSA would force me to contribute to it. It is the right way to go, and if young people would get this type of plan from the beginning of their career, then they might amass a good amount of money by the time they are in their 40's. Then they won't have to worry quite as much if they lose their jobs in their 40s or 50s and have $20,000-$30,000 saved up for premiums or health expenses.

 

What is an HSA? Is that like an HMO?

 

Health Savings Account

Health savings account - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

An HSA stands for Health Savings account. In a nutshell, your employer can offer an HSA by subtracting a predetermined tax free amount from your paycheck to go towards health expenses. Pretty much, if you have a prescription for it, you can pay for it with non taxed income.

I find the IRS's stance on HSA's (FSA - Flexible spending account/ HRA - Health reimbursement account) to be rather shady. They say that once these funds are subtracted from your paycheck for that year, you either use it or lose it at the end of the year. This is horrible. What's simply stopping them from taxing it and refunding you the excess funds? Who can budget into the future with 100% accuracy?

 

How was it different? I understand that they may have different names hence different policies, but in practice don't they all accomplish the same task? We have a flex plan offered at my workplace that I disrespectfully declined.

 

Flex plans are only good if you know you will have medical expenses for the year. If you live paycheck-to-paycheck, they will also front you the money I've heard. f you don't use the money for medical expenses by a certain date the bank gets it.

HRA's are basically a corporate created version of the HSA. The company controls the money in the account and it is limited to $1500 or whatever and then the company doesn't have to contribute anymore. If you leave the company, you forfeit all of the money. I guess unemployed or retired people don't need health care...

HSA's are the only good option long-term. You control the account for your entire lifetime. There is no limit to how much you can accumulate, only how much you can put in tax free each year. You can pass it onto your heir's (after tax) if you die. If you are healthy for a few years and can save enough to cover any deductible, it is nice being able to go to the doctor and not have to worry about paying. The insurance company can be granted access to your account to use the money to pay your bills. At least I think it will work that way, it did with the HRA plan.