What type of health insurance should I buy?

[k12balla]

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I'll be starting as an independent contractor next month, and am on my own as far as benefits go. Any thoughts on good websites to compare offers, reputable companies, or what to look for in terms of deductibles and copay etc? I'm married with two young kids, all healthy if that matters. Thanks!

 

[Wealth Anatomy]

I'm a fan of high-deductible plans ($5,000-$10,00 family deductibles). Especially if you're a young and healthy family like you mentioned. I'm in my early 30s, have a wife and three kids under 6 and I personally have a $10,000 deductible family plan. I'd rather cover all my expenses up to that amount and have 100% coverage if something catastrophic were to happen. This will keep the cost low for you.

There are no co-pays with a high-deductible plan. Again, you pay 100% of everything up to the deductible and are then covered at 100% after that. You'll also be able to contribute to a Health Savings Account. For lack of time to explain, you can contribute to an HSA, deduct the amount contributed (up to $6,550 for a family), and use the account tax-free for health care costs.

I would try www.ehealthinsurance.com. You can check all major carriers at once and compare prices and plans. Good luck!

 

[TexasPhysician]

I would go high deductible as well.

 

[k12balla]

Thanks for the responses. I've done a little research and right now hdhp for 30yo healthy family of four is about $450-800 monthly premiums, for 6k/12k deductibles. Is this reasonable? I thought the premiums would be a lot lower...Would it be cheaper to get a short term policy and reapply within the govt. Health care market during the open enrollment in November?

With the plans, it's my understanding that preventative care including annual check ups, well child care, immunizations, mamoms and all labs etc are fully covered. Is that safe to assume?

Also, for those of you with these plans, how do you factor in pregnancy/ delivery? Are you assuming you will max out indv. Deductible with 100% co insurance taking over? If the new born requires extra care, is that covered under the maternal plan or do you you have to max their deductible out as well first? Thanks again for your input.

 

[Wealth Anatomy]

That $800 range seems high to me so I would keep checking. The premiums through the government won't necessarily be lower for you unless you qualify for a subsidy. I don't know your current income but you could to see if you qualify for subsidies on www.healthcare.gov.

Preventative care is fully covered under the new health insurance rules.

Most plans that I've seen, if they have coverage at all for maternity, have a separate deductible for pregnancy ($7,500 or so) which is what it cost to delivery a healthy baby anyways. The plans that I've seen say that they'll cover expenses without a new deductible "for pregnancy complications." They fail to define what that is though. I'm fairly confident that you'll need to pay the new non-maternity deductible if the baby requires additional care however.