Planning on dropping Health Insurance. Change my mind.

[thekkfan]

..... but I知 paying around $185 a month currently, so it痴 not enough of a savings to justify getting away from employers insurance.

...... I have a lot of skills in HVAC, electrical, plumbing, building automations and a bunch of other residential and commercial systems.

Dude, these are all well paying trades that wouldn't BLINK at $186/mo for insurance. Something doesn't add up.

 

[tjkubota93]

Dude, these are all well paying trades that wouldn't BLINK at $186/mo for insurance. Something doesn't add up.

I didn't want to be crass, but I was thinking if paying insurance is a strain on you, get a better job.

Go talk to the higher paying place. Just walk up and talk to some workers that do the same thing as you. Don't burn the bridge where your at. Just say :I found a job that pays 20% more I accepted and will be gone in 2 weeks. If your a good worker and they aren't dicks, they will welcome you back with open arms if the new gig doesn't work out. Who would hold it against you that you want to better yourself?

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

Dude, these are all well paying trades that wouldn't BLINK at $186/mo for insurance. Something doesn't add up.

Can you clarify? Are you saying $186 a month is good or bad?

The company I work for offers 3 plans. Lowest is $186, middle is $350 and highest is $517 per month for a single person. The company is world wide and has over 200k employees.

 

[tjkubota93]

One time when I did that, I didn't get insurance at the new job until I had been there 90 days. I got a sinus infection and ended up paying out of pocket at a minor med for a dr visit and antibiotic shot.

 

[bruceha2000]

When I laid my bike down the bill was around 10k, I paid $1800 of that out of pocket on my current plan. Plus $200 ER visit Co-Pay and prob other expenses I’m forgetting. That was the only time I used the insurance that year.

So IF you happen to need medical care, the insurance sure comes in handy doesn't it? You paid $2K, the insurance company paid $8K. I think that means you need to reduce the amount of insurance premiums you said you have wasted over the years by that $8K.

I'd say you got off cheap either way. DD needed ear surgery earlier this year, guess we could have skipped it if we didn't mind her being deaf on one side. The hospital charged $16K JUST for the operating room and I think that was only about 1 hour of time. That didn't include the surgeon, the 2 anesthesiologists nor the recovery room. We paid $1,600 for the OR, had already hit the deductible earlier. And of course we paid a bunch for the other 'services' as well. That is with DW's employer Blue Cross coverage which costs us about $8K a year.

I'm a little confused that you said you own your home but will have it paid off by the time you are 40. So, at this point in time, the bank owns your home

You get to decide what you want to do but I will add 2 things.
1) You said you won't need the SS you will pay over the years, kinda suggesting that you won't get it because you'll have plenty of money? Not the way it works. I suppose you don't HAVE to take it but you are eligible regardless if you have no assets or $1.5 BILLION.
2) Maximize your 401K contributions, not just to the employer match but to the federal cap. That is pretax and will grow to far more than your SS.

 

[bruceha2000]

Can you clarify? Are you saying $186 a month is good or bad?

The company I work for offers 3 plans. Lowest is $186, middle is $350 and highest is $517 per month for a single person. The company is world wide and has over 200k employees.

I think he is suggesting that with your skills, you are under-employed. Should be making enough money that you wouldn't be spending time deciding if $186/month is affordable.

 

[ruffdog]

I'd be eating stale cornflakes before taking a loan on the 401k too. As long as there is a loan, you are not getting interest or other income added to it, other than what is coming out of your own pocket.

 

[bruceha2000]

Another reason for health insurance. If you need hospitalization and have no insurance do you realize who pays the bill? ME, because the rates are jacked up to cover the cost of the uninsured. That is one reason for the high cost of healthcare, uninsured people.

Kinda yes and kinda no

If you have no insurance they charge the full rate. If you have insurance the company has spent a lot of money wrangling with the providers for a "better deal". So, in reality, the uninsured are paying far more than the real cost because the insurance companies are paying less. Case in point, the $16K operating room I referenced earlier cost us $1,600, the insurance company $6,400 and the hospital wrote off $8K because that is their agreement with the insurance company. Someone without insurance wouldn't have been charged $8K, they would be responsible for the entire $16K.

 

[bruceha2000]

I'd be eating stale cornflakes before taking a loan on the 401k too. As long as there is a loan, you are not getting interest or other income added to it, other than what is coming out of your own pocket.

Agreed, a 401K loan is a last ditch answer to a financial problem. Eat the stale corn flakes and egg salad sandwiches at every meal first. At least the interest is going back to you, rather than to a loan company.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

So IF you happen to need medical care, the insurance sure comes in handy doesn't it? You paid $2K, the insurance company paid $8K. I think that means you need to reduce the amount of insurance premiums you said you have wasted over the years by that $8K.

I'd say you got off cheap either way. DD needed ear surgery earlier this year, guess we could have skipped it if we didn't mind her being deaf on one side. The hospital charged $16K JUST for the operating room and I think that was only about 1 hour of time. That didn't include the surgeon, the 2 anesthesiologists nor the recovery room. We paid $1,600 for the OR, had already hit the deductible earlier. And of course we paid a bunch for the other 'services' as well. That is with DW's employer Blue Cross coverage which costs us about $8K a year.

I'm a little confused that you said you own your home but will have it paid off by the time you are 40. So, at this point in time, the bank owns your home

You get to decide what you want to do but I will add 2 things.
1) You said you won't need the SS you will pay over the years, kinda suggesting that you won't get it because you'll have plenty of money? Not the way it works. I suppose you don't HAVE to take it but you are eligible regardless if you have no assets or $1.5 BILLION.
2) Maximize your 401K contributions, not just to the employer match but to the federal cap. That is pretax and will grow to far more than your SS.

1. You are correct that the house isn’t paid off, I have a loan out on the house that I’m in the process of paying off, the house is mine as long as I make the payments until it’s paid off.

2. I came out ahead on that year but didn’t any other year. I haven’t always had the lowest plan, I started out with the highest ($6100 per year), then moved to the middle plan ($4200 per year) and settled on the lowest plan ($2200 per year) for the last two years. So around 14k paid into, give or take a little as insurance premiums keep going up.

3. I don’t plan to use or take ANY assistance, I plan to be totally financially independent threw investments and rental properties. I will get there, it will just take some time to get there.

4. I have been putting in 8% into 401k, the Max is 51% of my income and there is no way I can or will do that lol. I don’t contribute to my SS, I pay what the government says Im required at tax time.