DISQUS

allthatissolid · 1 month ago

I have health insurance. GHI (aka "Ghetto health insurance"), which is the only non-profit health care plan in the area. As a city (and UNION) employee, I pay no premiums, and I get coverage for my domestic partner with no added costs. That said, the doctor network is smaller because they get compensated less. I pay $15 copay for primary care/$25 for a specialists. All the doctors I have seen have been awesome, though. No complaints here.
If I get knocked up, however, I may shop around.

applebk · 1 month ago

have health insurance. employer pays, but the pay sucks, so it's a toss up. 15$ copay at each doctor visit, $20 for specialists, Rxs run anywhere from $5 to $50.

Emily · 1 month ago

I have health insurance, but our company is really small (7 employees) only five of which are on the health insurance plan. Our company pays 100% of the benefit for employees. Employee pays spouse or family.

As the office manager it is my job to deal with choosing plans for renewal, and I have to tell you, this year is CRAZY. Crazy. Our current insurance plan is going up by nearly 35%! So you know what that means...changing plans. It is so not cool. I mean, we pay almost as much for health insurance per month as we do rent. It is nuts! And, the plans we can afford all have high deductibles and or co-insurance and deductibles for name brand drugs. It actually makes me angry that even when there are choices for health insurance, the choices suck.

I've totally been without health insurance, and I've had better plans, but it feels like right now insurance companies are making a ton of money off of our health or lack there of. It is disgusting and disheartening. And I look at people protesting and I wonder what the rest of the world is thinking when they see us fighting against something that would help people.

Guest · 1 month ago

I have an HSA plan.

Bonus: I can stash what I'd spend on expensive healthcare and use it, tax free, for things insurance doesn't normally cover like dental, LASIK surgery, vitamins and band aids.

Drawback: I'm screwed when something goes wrong. I've spent $2k this year on tests and biopsies, and still need another procedure that will run me about $2k more.

bhkart · 1 month ago

We are both freelancers and have insurance through freelancers union. Used to be about $950/month but I had a baby over the summer and now its closer to $1350. Plus a $2g deductible plus expensive prescriptions plus a $40-$50 copay. This is for the best plan they offer, which we will probably downgrade now that im not pregnant. At least its blue cross blue shield BUT every year they change the plan and change carriers so who knows wtf will happen next month.

Ribs · 1 month ago

I see this and I cringe. As a Canadian (and someone who's done stints of freelance FWIW), I've always had full, no-questions-asked coverage. I currently make a livable salary, and even then, keeping up with the bills isn't easy. To have to pay THAT much a month is beyond comprehension to me. What we pay into health care a month is nowhere close to that amount. I can't understand how it's possible that any American that cares about their family and fellow countrymen, could oppose a universal system. The ones that do must be unimaginably stupid or rich.

dykesloper · 1 month ago

I'm not unimaginably stupid or rich but I have actually dealt with the "benefit" of US gov't health care via medicaid and the VA while I was freelancing. Anyone who begs for this bureaucratic monstrosity must be naive or foreign.

JakeTaylor · 1 month ago

Yep, through my employer - BCBS, high deductible, low premium ($56/mth) - $20 co-pay for office visits, $50 E.R.

Oh, and @allthatissolid - if that's "ghetto health insurance," I want to live in that ghetto. Gotta get on that sweet sweet union/city gravy train.

Guest · 1 month ago

Curious, what percentage of the premium does your employer pay? ($56 is just your share, yes?)

JakeTaylor · 1 month ago

Actually not sure what percentage they chip in - but yeah, the $56 is just my share.

allthatissolid · 1 month ago

Ha! I'm new to the lush life of the humble NYC civil servant. This moniker was explained to me by our benefits coordinator, because it is the most basic, no-frills plan.
Serving the public is no cake walk, but the pension (aka guaranteed 70% of my final income plus insurance after 35 years of service, until I DIE) and the benefits are suh-weet!

JakeTaylor · 1 month ago

I'm not trying to open a can of worms here, or begrudging you your cushy benefits/pension package - I chose my career path just as you did - but but I never understand this "serving the public" meme so often used by government employees.

Those of us working for private companies, or freelancing, or basically any job, how are we not "serving the public?" The only difference I can see is that your "no-frills" healthcare and pension are paid for by our taxes, whereas my no-frills healthcare and pension (oh wait, nevermind, I don't get one of those) comes out of my paycheck. But we're still both providing a public service.

TheAmberShow · 1 month ago

Our health insurance plan is Cross Cross - you cross your fingers when you cross the street. (Sorry, I grew up in a house of corny jokes.)

I'd like to stop having to pay for other people's children's education so I can afford to go to the doctor.

Meredith · 1 month ago

I have health insurance of which I pay 70% myself. The plan is so expensive that the portion of my salary devoted to health care payments keeps me from living alone. True story.

Name · 1 month ago

My company pays about 80% of the premiums and we pay about 20%. They actually have a progressive system where the more money you make, the higher the % you pay per month which is kind of nice since I'm on the shit end of the salary scale.

Having said that, it's United Health Care, and I think they're kind of expensive, 20 copay, 40 for a specialist. Prescriptions can go from $5 to $25 for name brand shit. And they're kind of dicks with their policies. They will not take any lab work from Quest Diagnostics, you have to make sure if you have any sort of blood work done your doctor uses their preferred lab.

Also, without going into my medical history, I'm on medications that are name brand, so I used to just use their mail-order pharmacy for 90 day supplies because it was cheaper than using a regular pharmacy but UHC forced me to use another "special" mail order pharmacy that charges the full $25 per prescription, and does not offer discounts or even 90 day supplies because they deemed my medications to be unnecessary or questionable. So I have to keep getting everything mailed once a month rather than 4 times a year, and I can't use any pharmacies in the area, it HAS to be the mail order crap.

We had Cigna before they while they were about the same, they didn't pull that bullshit with me on prescriptions but the premiums we paid were like twice what we pay now.

To be quite honest, even though I have coverage I honestly don't think they'd cover me if I had some catastrophic situation like cancer. I'm sure they'd deny claims or I'd hit some pay out cap they have which people probably don't even know about until they hit it.

IanM · 1 month ago

I had nothing for about a year and a half after graduating from college, but as of a few months ago I now have catastrophic only, which I pay for - so I'm covered to some degree if I get hit by a bus, but have no way to pay for regular checkups, prescriptions, tests, etc. My employer says they'll start offering real insurance soon though.

stellapc · 1 month ago

I have health insurance. My employer pays most of it and I pay some (My share is leass than $150/month.)

Moni · 1 month ago

No. Who said I had an employer?

dee · 1 month ago

Yes. Through my University. It was about $2000/year when I was paying tuition as a masters student ("basic" level), now as a funded PhD student, they also cover my insurance costs, at the "comprehensive" level of $3000/year.

I pay $5 copays on birth control, more on inhalers, nothing to see a doctor but I have to go to health centre at school, which means schlepping to Columbia from Brooklyn.

I keep my Ontario health card in my wallet, though, with plans to head home if anything _really_ went wrong.

essiegal · 1 month ago

used to have health insurance through bcbs & it was like 80% them 20% me plus $250 deductible for prescriptions or something so half the year i was paying out of pocket well not full price but like $40 for this one $2 for that one.
Now going thru COBRA which BLOWS CHUNKS SO flippin expensive!
But started a PT job that after 30days might be able to get a much cheaper rate insurance........hopefully keep same drs we'll see............
COBRA MEDICAL is $700 a month & you have to pay by the billing cycle or you're not covered. i signed up mid month & was only covered from that date til end of month if didn't get payment in by the bill cycle date wouldn't hv been covered (Soo flippin F*cked up) Maybe i'll move to canada where they can have babies & stay in hospitals for a few week & not have to pay a dime!

i'm not pregnant & don't plan to be soon but I did see that Michael Moore movie about health insurance..........& it seems like European countries know what's up!!!

I hope the PUBLIC option comes quick & soon & gives some relief to us who made decisions to live their dreams & not work for some Corp America job that the reason you have to go to damn dr's is b/c of those damn hunched over a computer all day mindless jobs!

was thinking of not having insurance & maybe getting Medicaid or whatevr it is that some people can get if you don't make a certain amount of money but it covers you a 100% not the one for people over 65........

John M Osborne · 1 month ago

Yes. Employer pays 400 and I pay 400.

A month.

Name · 1 month ago

I am currently underemployed/freelance/self-employed/ohhellimnotworking. I pay out of pocket myself for emergency only catastrophic insurance that will pay for some hospital bills if i'm on the verge of death. But right now, I have mono. I've been sick for 2 weeks. I've paid for doctors, labs, etc. all out of pocket. It was a risk to go with the cheap insurance, but since i hadnt been sick in years, I went with it. I still think it might even out cost-wise versus paying through the nose for insurance. Oh, and i pay out of pocket every week for therapy to talk about how i'm not making enough money.

sevpepys · 1 month ago

No. I work full time at a company that provides no benefits--in the financial sector, no less. I make about $32,000 (and weathered a 25% pay cut for the first 9 mos of the year) and there is not enough left over for me to buy my own insurance.

Medical Spa MD · 1 month ago

We'll all have to switch to pay on demand models. Third party payment systems invite waste and huge checks.