Have an ACA/insurance question??

[Bowman78]

I'm gonna have to purchase health insurance from my current employer due to the unavoidable cancellation of coverage of my spouses policy.. My employer premium is gonna be approximately $40 per week for flex spending account coverage with a $4000 deductible and this doesn't include dental or vision or do I decline and take the tax penalty and roll the dice?? I'm 36 and healthy.. Haven't been to doc since 2012 for the snip/snip and ENT for a small procedure.. Haven't been to family doc since 2011.. I only need to worry bout myself as my kids and spouse have coverage.. Do I pay the premium or tax penalty?? Btw I will pay more than the minimum penalty per ACA standards.. And my employer has a health/benefit clinic I can use for $50 a year w/o insurance intervention.. What would ingo do???

 

[Vigilant]

Do you get a tax return? That is the only way they get the "penalty", garnishing your tax return! If you don't get one ****'em!

 

[Bowman78]

Yes, my household gets a return.. I file married with single withholdings with no exemptions.. I hate to write checks to the Feds more than I hate them holding my hard earned $$$ till February...

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I'm gonna have to purchase health insurance from my current employer due to the unavoidable cancellation of coverage of my spouses policy.. My employer premium is gonna be approximately $40 per week for flex spending account coverage with a $4000 deductible and this doesn't include dental or vision or do I decline and take the tax penalty and roll the dice?? I'm 36 and healthy.. Haven't been to doc since 2012 for the snip/snip and ENT for a small procedure.. Haven't been to family doc since 2011.. I only need to worry bout myself as my kids and spouse have coverage.. Do I pay the premium or tax penalty?? Btw I will pay more than the minimum penalty per ACA standards.. And my employer has a health/benefit clinic I can use for $50 a year w/o insurance intervention.. What would ingo do???

Is this an example of your spouse's employer dropping you because you have coverage as an option from your employer? I believe I'd heard of this being a possibility but first I'd heard of it actually happening.

 

[IndyGunworks]

that's a pretty good deal on insurance... I would take it, for sure. ESP since you have not been to the doctor for so long you really don't know exactly whats going on. If you have been skipping your annual physicals and blood draws then you are missing a great opportunity to find something before it becomes a larger issue.

 

[IndyGunworks]

Is this an example of your spouse's employer dropping you because you have coverage as an option from your employer? I believe I'd heard of this being a possibility but first I'd heard of it actually happening.

I work for Indianapolis fire department... the entire city is on a spousal exclusion and has been for about 2 or 3 years now... If your spouses employer offers to pay more than 50 percent of their health insurance costs they are excluded from being added on your policy. My son and I are insured by the city of Indianapolis, and my wife by the city of greenfield.

 

[Bowman78]

that's a pretty good deal on insurance... I would take it, for sure. ESP since you have not been to the doctor for so long you really don't know exactly whats going on. If you have been skipping your annual physicals and blood draws then you are missing a great opportunity to find something before it becomes a larger issue.

That's the premium on the high deductible hsa plan meaning, I pay $40 a week + all fees and all bills till I hit $4k out of pocket then the coverage kicks in.. That means I pay scrips and doc visits out o pocket till deductible is met 100%... That means $2100 out of pocket + $4000 deductible before insurance pays for anything!!! The low deductible conventional plan is almost 2 times as much but 1/2 on the deductible..

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I work for Indianapolis fire department... the entire city is on a spousal exclusion and has been for about 2 or 3 years now... If your spouses employer offers to pay more than 50 percent of their health insurance costs they are excluded from being added on your policy. My son and I are insured by the city of Indianapolis, and my wife by the city of greenfield.

Man...

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

That's the premium on the high deductible hsa plan meaning, I pay $40 a week + all fees and all bills till I hit $4k out of pocket then the coverage kicks in.. That means I pay scrips and doc visits out o pocket till deductible is met 100%... That means $2100 out of pocket + $4000 deductible before insurance pays for anything!!! The low deductible conventional plan is almost 2 times as much but 1/2 on the deductible..

I hear ya...We used to have one of the Cadillac plans. Now it's a mere shell of its former self--much like what you're talking about.

 

[Bowman78]

Btw spousal insurance exclusion isn't new.. Ups did it 2 yrs ago.. They saw the writing on the wall as adults are the main drain on insurance companies.. Especially as they age into the middle years!!!

 

[Bowman78]

You see the people that are the best investments as far as premiums are concerned from the insurance companies standpoint is young adults.. But they can ride on their parents coverage till 24.. So they pay no premiums into the system and therefore offer no cost offset for the folks that cost $$$ to keep healthy and alive.. Kinda funny how ACA has been written?? Doesn't help anyone that really needs/deserves it huh?? A big middle finger to the middle class who works and contributes..

 

[hooky]

That's the premium on the high deductible hsa plan meaning, I pay $40 a week + all fees and all bills till I hit $4k out of pocket then the coverage kicks in.. That means I pay scrips and doc visits out o pocket till deductible is met 100%... That means $2100 out of pocket + $4000 deductible before insurance pays for anything!!! The low deductible conventional plan is almost 2 times as much but 1/2 on the deductible..

So you're basically paying $40/week for major medical. If you didn't have insurance, you're going to pay all the scrips, doc visits, etc... out of pocket anyway with backstop if if goes beyond $4,000. Is it worth $2100 a year to have some coverage if the worst happened? That's how I'd look at the financial side of it, if it were me.

 

[IndyGunworks]

With the high deductible, you can set up a Health Savings Account, and put money into it Pretax... that's what I do. I put about 3k a year into the HSA and so far its been growing more than its been draining. By being pretax my money goes 30% further. If I were not young and healthy w/ a mostly healthy kid, I would be on the standard plan. However next year is that last year the city will even offer a conventional plan, after that its ALL high deductible.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I've mentioned this "weird trick" before, in other threads but just in case somebody doesn't know this: We found that the Bedford Medical Center (part of IU Health) will give you a very sizable discount if you tell them you are covered by a "high deductible" medical plan. My wife found this out accidentally one day when she called about the charges on a bill. She made some off-hand comment about how the insurance doesn't cover as much as it used to -- or something like that. The lady on the phone asked her about it and since we have a high deductible plan, they knocked off a large amount. I want to say it was 25% but it could have been higher. We were pleasantly surprised to say the least. But you have to ask about it when you get your bill. They won't do it automatically.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I've mentioned this "weird trick" before, in other threads but just in case somebody doesn't know this: We found that the Bedford Medical Center (part of IU Health) will give you a very sizable discount if you tell them you are covered by a "high deductible" medical plan. My wife found this out accidentally one day when she called about the charges on a bill. She made some off-hand comment about how the insurance doesn't cover as much as it used to -- or something like that. The lady on the phone asked her about it and since we have a high deductible plan, they knocked off a large amount. I want to say it was 25% but it could have been higher. We were pleasantly surprised to say the least. But you have to ask about it when you get your bill. They won't do it automatically.

So YOU'RE the one responsible for all the "This one weird trick can save you $$$/make you lose 30 lbs. in 10 days/take years off your face" ads I see on all the news sites!

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

So YOU'RE the one responsible for all the "This one weird trick can save you $$$/make you lose 30 lbs. in 10 days/take years off your face" ads I see on all the news sites!

It's made me millions!

 

[DoggyDaddy]

It's made me millions!

 

[zippy23]

If you can afford it, get insurance, if something bad happens like cancer, then you are beyond broke, and your family is screwed. Dont do that. And if you get a tax return as stated, then thats how you'll get screwed on that end. No reason not to be covered unless you cant afford it.

 

[Bowman78]

If you can afford it, get insurance, if something bad happens like cancer, then you are beyond broke, and your family is screwed. Dont do that. And if you get a tax return as stated, then thats how you'll get screwed on that end. No reason not to be covered unless you cant afford it.

I can afford it but I just want to flip a middle finger to the gov/ACA because I feel the scotus got it wrong but what would they know.. They aren't middle class Americans.. I know it's a financial wash but the kid in me wants to not carry insurance but in the end I probably will..