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How much do Americans pay for health insurance?

mmntech

mmntech

Lifer
Was reading an article today about home much Canadians pay for health care, on average. Rather how much of their annual tax bill goes towards health insurance.

Got me thinking. Americans always talk about how expensive their health insurance is. So what are our US based ATOTers paying per year for their family (or themselves if they're unattached)? I'm talking basic hospital/doctor visit/surgery coverage. Not drugs, dental, disability, or eye care as those aren't covered here by socialized medicine.
 
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Through my last employer, just for myself, I was paying around $1700/yr for health coverage, sans vision/dental. 70/30 and I think my deductible was right around $800.

Now I've elected to not have any coverage at all because no matter what basic thing I need, be it medications or something orthodontic, it's cheaper for me to drive an hour south into Mexico and just pay out of pocket than it would be here even with insurance covering 70% of it.
 
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I pay ~$1800/yr for my family (me, wife, any number of kids), my employer pays ~$17k, so ~$19k total.
 
Centauri said:
Through my last employer, just for myself, I was paying around $1700/yr for health coverage, sans vision/dental. 70/30 and I think my deductible was right around $800.

Now I've elected to not have any coverage at all because no matter what basic thing I need, be it medications or something orthodontic, it's cheaper for me to drive an hour south into Mexico and just pay out of pocket than it would be here even with insurance covering 70% of it.
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Good luck when you get cancer or something else catastrophic.
 
Average cost of health insurance in the US is $5.6k for an individual and $15.7k for a family.

UglyCasanova said:
Good luck when you get cancer or something else catastrophic.
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Yes, I would recommend that he pick up a high deductible plan. A quick price check for me indicates that it would run me around $40/month for a $10k deductible with $13k annual out-of-pocket max plan...and considering that there is no lifetime limit, that would be all the plan that I would need as a young healthy buck.
 
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If employer is paying 0 to 100/month.

If covering by yourself the sky is the limit (depending on preexisting conditions). If you are healthy, it can range from $150/month (with super high deductible) to over $1,000/month (with low deductible).
 
Right now, I think, I'm paying like $30 a month for me. 20% - $500 deductible, $2000 out-of-pocket max for medical, dental and vision. If you look at my paystub, my plan is like $898.00 a month, but my employer gives us a $904 credit. The credit also goes towards life, disability insurance, and retirement.
 
Anonemous said:
If employer is paying 0 to 100/month.

If covering by yourself the sky is the limit (depending on preexisting conditions). If you are healthy, it can range from $150/month (with super high deductible) to over $1,000/month (with low deductible).
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LOL, ignorance is bliss.

When I was last actually insured, I was paying $200 a month with the employer [supposedly] picking up half.

I have never payed 100 a month or less. I've also never had good coverage.
 
In general, total insurance costs for an otherwise healthy 20-40 year old is about 300/mo for decent coverage. Many employers pick up most of the cost so most individuals dont know how much it actually costs.
 
Very interesting. Seems to vary a lot.

Okay, so here's Canada's stats. Average heath insurance bill per household is $7,860. A typical nuclear family (2 adults, 2 children) pays $11,320 per year in taxes towards healthcare. Unnatached individuals pay $3,780. It's roughly 10% of gross income across the board. Prime differences though is you can't be denied care and there's no deductible.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/cana...et-canada-system-unsustainable-182904579.html
 
It varies a lot since most people get health insurance through employment. The company will contribute a certain percentage of the cost, largely depending on either the company values or how much they value the employee.
 
I don't know what my employer pays for just me, but to add my family would be $837 per month.

Fucking ridiculous for a service that we never reach our deductibles on. Right now the only reason my wife works is because family insurance through StarBucks is only $250/mo and is FAR better than my shitty bottom of the barrel insurance.
 
Pay $1,078/year, but I get to keep $1,000 of that in an HSA that continues to grow year after year. Can use it toward my $2,500 deductible, or $4,500 max out of pocket/year if something major happens. Can use it for retirement income if I don't use it by then supposedly.

Got tired of paying $1k+ for a PPO or HMO for nothing since I haven't been to a doctor in over a decade.

Right now I have no idea where I'd even be covered or not. 80% in network,
0% out, 50% some procedures, 60% emergency room, 50% prescription medication, 40% who the fuck knows....god what a mess. Glad I'm healthy for now.

I've seen someone at work exhibiting life threatening symptoms, but they wanted to go to a hospital 10 miles away instead of 1 mile because of insurance coverage. Just pathetic we have to pay out the ass for coverage, but it's only covered if it meets certain criteria.
 
mmntech said:
Very interesting. Seems to vary a lot.

Okay, so here's Canada's stats. Average heath insurance bill per household is $7,860. A typical nuclear family (2 adults, 2 children) pays $11,320 per year in taxes towards healthcare. Unnatached individuals pay $3,780. It's roughly 10% of gross income across the board. Prime differences though is you can't be denied care and there's no deductible.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/cana...et-canada-system-unsustainable-182904579.html
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Wow did not figure it was that high. I'm single so I'm probably on the low end of that scale in the 3-4k range.

But here's an interesting thought though, if they decided to switch to the US system here, do you think they would lower taxes to compensate? Probably not. 😛
 
phucheneh said:
LOL, ignorance is bliss.

When I was last actually insured, I was paying $200 a month with the employer [supposedly] picking up half.

I have never payed 100 a month or less. I've also never had good coverage.
Click to expand...

Ouch was this for a small company and just for yourself?
 
UglyCasanova said:
Good luck when you get cancer or something else catastrophic.
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Already there. I have to get my upper jaw surgically widened and my lower jaw surgically reduced. Costs $50-60k in the US. And because it's TMJD related, it's virtually impossible to get any insurer to cover it. My last two insurers outright refused to cover a penny, even for the initial orthodontic work.

You were saying?
 
i get free health care from my company for me and my family. we have a high deductible plan but we have an HSA that my company also puts money into so basically i don't end up paying anything out of pocket for anything. i have asthma and take advair daily and that shit is like $270 with my plan, but as mentioned, i use my HSA to cover it, which is full of money from my company.
 
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