How much do Americans pay for health insurance?

[sportage]

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.

😀
Thank you! Best laugh I've had today.

I so want to be there when you tell the ambulance driver "Mexico, please. And step on it.".
So.. it looks like everyone here with paying insurance will be covering YOUR a$$.

 

[IronWing]

How long can people and companies put up with these ridiculous and rising rates?

A good portion of the money goes toward paying politicians to maintain the status quo. That the system is destroying lives and making America uncompetitive in the world matters not.

 

[tokie]

Tokie...it depends on specialism. Also the exchange rates put the salary ranges in the same area. UK doctors make around 70-80k for the lower end. In US dollars this is around 130k

UK doctors make the most in Europe. The Nordic countries have better health outcomes, but their doctors are paid even less.

People asking for a single payer system don't seem to take these facts into account. You can't take a European model with low doctor salaries and impose it on the US/Canada and expect it to work.

American doctor salaries would never decrease enough to make it affordable.

 

[torpid]

I question the validity of citing how much you pay and not including how much your employer pays if the purpose is comparing to another country. That's effectively part of your costs because it's factored into your overall pay. We pay $2500/year for a plan that overall costs $18,000 a year.

 

[Vdubchaos]

I question the validity of citing how much you pay and not including how much your employer pays if the purpose is comparing to another country. That's effectively part of your costs because it's factored into your overall pay. We pay $2500/year for a plan that overall costs $18,000 a year.

Lot of employers are also ripped off by middle man (which raises the premiums as well).

When I compared our group policy at work, I quickly found out that every employee can get insurance on their own much cheaper and even our company would benefit.

But they won't get rid of middle man.....

 

[MiniDoom]

$5700 for family

 

[JoetheLion]

Most European countries (if not all) have life insurance coverage as one of the basics principles. I don't know why it's still an issue in USA and so many people are still against it. I really don't get it. And if you look at some quotes in Canada (here for example). I think you should still find it cheaper to have an insurance instead of paying for overpriced medicine and medical treatments etc...

 

[soulcougher73]

$2125/year for my wife and I and we rarely if ever need medical care. Mostly a rip off. That is the for the cheapest plan my company offers. $3k deducatable if i remember right.

 

[DrPizza]

UK doctors make the most in Europe. The Nordic countries have better health outcomes, but their doctors are paid even less.

People asking for a single payer system don't seem to take these facts into account. You can't take a European model with low doctor salaries and impose it on the US/Canada and expect it to work.

American doctor salaries would never decrease enough to make it affordable.

I don't think doctor salaries make up anywhere near the lion's share of health costs.

 

[soulcougher73]

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

That is actually pretty good. Pretty much all employers in the US who do offer HC pick up a big part of the tab. A familly of 4 like you mentioned without getting employer compensation would probably pay WAY more then $11,320/year here in the US.

 

[Centauri]

😀
Thank you! Best laugh I've had today.

I so want to be there when you tell the ambulance driver "Mexico, please. And step on it.".
So.. it looks like everyone here with paying insurance will be covering YOUR a$$.

Interesting. Is there a way I can make sure that you in particular shoulder a disproportionately high amount of the burden should I have an unpaid medical bill?

Regardless, I'm currently working part-time as I go back to school so I don't even have insurance available to me through my current employer. And even if I did, I won't elect to take coverage from anybody again until the umbrella widens a bit insofar as what is covered; I'm already shouldering $40k+ over the next few years out of pocket in treatments for something my past two insurers outright refused to cover. Paying for insurance that won't cover any of what I need doesn't make sense while I myself am shouldering the entirety of the burden for what I need.

 

[PenguinPower]

That is actually pretty good. Pretty much all employers in the US who do offer HC pick up a big part of the tab. A familly of 4 like you mentioned without getting employer compensation would probably pay WAY more then $11,320/year here in the US.

About 82% for single/72% for family (doesn't take into account cost sharing and include HDHPs). Only 60% of employers offer it though.