Trying to figure out health insurance is the pits. Roy will have decent insurance through the school and they have a dependent plan, but I don't know what type to choose. All I know is that my kids go to the doctor for well-child visits and not much else. They hardly ever need any medication and we have only been to the ER once (just because we were in Blythe and couldn't go anywhere else) But then what if something serious happens to them and I'm stuck paying some big ol' deductible the ONE time they actually need medical attention. And with me, man, I never go to the doctor, mainly because I hate making appointments. :) But I do know I want to have another kid soon and I don't want to have to pay a bunch of money every month for insurance and STILL have to pay my deductible AND my co-pay. I never realized how easy we had it on state provided insurance. Man oh man, the good ol' days of stealing other people's taxes! :)
Seriously though, any advice out there? High deductible, low monthly payment? Vice-versa? One thing I will mention is that with whatever plan we go with, the well-child visits and immunizations are completely covered, so that's nice (even though I guess now that Blaise is older he doesn't need them nearly as often, so it doesn't really matter) Anyway, what do ya'll think?
5 comments:
We tend to go the low deductible route, I think just in case we ever have that big emergency or one of the kids gets really sick. Insurance is the pits - GE's was way better than Chad's current employer, which was about the only stinky thing about Chad switching jobs, and they are changing it again next year to add higher deductibles. It is funny that they have things like 2 months paid paternity, which seems so awesome, but they know that way less people will be using that than their insurance, which sucks. So their benefits look more impressive than they are. So we will just have to stick it to them with kids! j/k. Anyway, yeah, babbling now.
I vote high deductible. They're both pretty high anyway, and the difference in premiums is huge.
Taking a page from Dave Ramsey here, I'll suggest the big deductable route. Build up an emergency fund in the bank, and that will let you pay the big deductable in the event that you do need to. Otherwise, use the money you save with the lower monthly payments to work the baby steps (emergency fund, snowball your debt, bigger emergency fund, saving/investing, etc.) and things will be good.
The higher deductable will also likely save you money as it will help you to evaluate a situation before running to the doctor (sounds like you already do that anyway). When the doctor is cheap, people go all the time for the tiniest things. All the "cheap" visits end up adding up to more than would have been spent on a few visits that were actually necessary.
I hope I'm allowed to post on this blog...:).
Obviously the cost-benefits of the plan are what you need to base the decision on, and it sounds like its kind of a no-brainer based on what Roy wrote - I would argue to the contrary of what James put though. I would not want to be in a situation where I am hesitating on health care because of the deductible. I agree that you shouldn't rush to the DR. everytime your kid sneezes, but if its 11:00 PM on a Sunday (When children always get sick) and your child is having issues but your hesitant because you chose the $500 emergency room deductible over the $50 deductible - you are going to base that decision on money and not need. I agree it does help you to take a step back and evaluate true need, but it can also cloud your judgement to the point that you make a poor decision. Cut cable, get rid of the cell - but I am a big fan of comprehensive coverage.
We've always gone with the low deductable plan. I don't like to skimp on insurance. I don't know if we have saved money over the years, but I hate paying those deductables.
Post a Comment