what does "Resident shares cost" translate to in real terms?

[Igor4sugry]

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I am researching programs and noticed that on FREIDA under Major Medical Benefits (medical, dental, disability) some programs list Resident shares cost whereas other say "Fully paid by institution".

Are they talking about some group rate?

I'm trying to understand whether the "resident shares cost" option will end up costing me a lot of $$ out of my resident salary. I have a family with one child and want to have some idea in advance how such a program will affect my budget.

 

[IMdocT]

it means you pay for part of the benefit. for example, they may offer you 3 levels of medical insurance. cheapest is going to your own hospital, next is a limited network, and the widest level is a PPO. the program will pay for part of what you select, and you pay the rest. this is a made up example, but suppose the premiums for these 3 choices are 100, 150, and 200 a month, and the program pays 50%. then they might deduct 50, 75, and 100 from your monthly paycheck if you decide you want one of these insurance plans. the price is usually the same for everyone, in your program. you can add spouse and dependents. you can always decline the benefit if you have your own medical insurance.

 

[Igor4sugry]

I'm trying to understand whether residencies where residents share cost of benefits end up taking a big chunk of the salary. Its also difficult to figure out the true cost of these additional expenses because each state has different health systems and price tables.

Do some students base their decision on cost of benefits?

 

[michigangirl]

It's an important question. Some programs will pay 100% of your insurance plan, including spouse and dependents. But their overall salary may be lower than those that make you pay a portion. Same goes for book allowances, travel funds, parking, etc. etc.-- when it comes to residency, generally everything seems to even out between programs when you take into consideration cost of living in certain areas. It's hard to peg programs down to these nitty gritty details on interview day, though.

 

[ShyRem]

I actually found that programs were often more than willing to give me the exact amount of what benefits would cost me per pay period. I also found that I was one of the very few that asked about the cost of benefits.

The answers ranged from "we offer a group rate that the resident pays" to "we cover 100% of resident and all dependents". Some places offered dental, some offered vision, some even offered life insurance.

Ask questions at each place you interview. Some of those costs were quite substantial - one place to cover myself and my family for health, vision, and dental would have cost me $500/month (and the salary was the same as places that quoted me $45/month for the same coverage).

 

[turkeyjerky]

I actually found that programs were often more than willing to give me the exact amount of what benefits would cost me per pay period. I also found that I was one of the very few that asked about the cost of benefits.

The answers ranged from "we offer a group rate that the resident pays" to "we cover 100% of resident and all dependents". Some places offered dental, some offered vision, some even offered life insurance.

Ask questions at each place you interview. Some of those costs were quite substantial - one place to cover myself and my family for health, vision, and dental would have cost me $500/month (and the salary was the same as places that quoted me $45/month for the same coverage).

How'd you go about asking these questions on interview days? Ie: who and when did you ask? Thanks

 

[Solandri]

How'd you go about asking these questions on interview days? Ie: who and when did you ask? Thanks

I was wondering that myself.

Thanks for the info, ShyRem.

 

[Danbo1957]

Example:

http://residency.med.yale.edu/programs/traditional/benefits.aspx

 

[gutonc]

How'd you go about asking these questions on interview days? Ie: who and when did you ask? Thanks

You don't ask that on interview day. Of anybody.

You send an email to either the PC or the GME office (you can usually look that up online) and ask them...after your interview day.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

You don't ask that on interview day. Of anybody.

You send an email to either the PC or the GME office (you can usually look that up online) and ask them...after your interview day.

As I recall, this was pretty normal information to supply applicants with when they interview. Most places gave out folders that had all sorts of information, including details about benefits. You can also check the program's website because that usually contains the information as well.

I wouldn't ask anyone about it during a one on one interview, but I think it's fair game when you talk with residents and during the basic program overview types of presentations that are usually pretty open in terms of topics to discuss. I don't think anyone would think it's a weird thing to ask -- pay and benefits are all reasonable considerations. Of course, if they have really good programs for benefits, you'll probably hear about it anyway.

In terms of what you might pay, I think I pay somewhere around $400/month for me and my spouse, which is not atypical. We also get zero educational funds, which I think is a little atypical. Not saying it should dictate your decisions, but if you're pretty much split between two programs, it's something worth thinking about.

 

[NOsquid]

I pay about $130/mo before taxes, so effectively $90/mo for my individual policy with health, dental, vision. It would be twice as much with the high end PPO option.

I would definitely go with gutonc's advice. Nothing but smiles on interview day, no serious questions.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

I pay about $130/mo before taxes, so effectively $90/mo for my individual policy with health, dental, vision. It would be twice as much with the high end PPO option.

I would definitely go with gutonc's advice. Nothing but smiles on interview day, no serious questions.

Medicine is so bizarre. It's actually seen as a bad thing in any other field when an interviewee is not sufficiently interested in things like benefits and work details. We're interviewing for a job -- it's reasonable to be concerned about these things. I've never heard of a program dinging an applicant because they were curious about health insurance benefits.

 

[rabok416]

The cost of health insurance was a big factor when I looked at places to interview. To cover my family at my home program would have been about $550 per month just for the cheapest health insurance plan. That's a big bite out of a paycheck. We ended up going somewhere with much cheaper insurance, so we put some of that extra cash into a little nicer house. If you want a good health insurance plan, check out Iowa. I hear their residents get free orthotics and OTC drugs. The best place to get this kind of info is on the HR websites of the various institutions. Generally your interviewers won't have any idea what benefits cost.