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Comment by ceejayoz | Hacker News Reader

The average health insurance monthly premium for individuals is a couple hundred dollars ($321 in 2017 per https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/23/heres-how-much-the-average-a... ; it'll be higher now). $10 or $100/month both mean the employer is chipping in a bunch, they're subsidized via the exchange due to low income, or they've got absolutely garbage coverage that won't actually pay for anything significant.

This is why the linkage to employers for coverage is so insidious - it hides the true cost of the system in lowered salaries. People look at an unsubsidized exchange plan like mine, with its $2,144/month premiums, and go "holy shit, I only pay $10/month for mine at work, that's horrible!"

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I was just looking up individual insurance rates the other day. You can probably find health insurance for $321/mo, and really don't cover all that much outside of catastrophic problems. If you want decent coverage you're looking at $600-$1000+/mo.

My wife just took a job at a place that has a 'good' health insurance plan.

If she opted into it, her contribution would be ~$300/month, her employer's contribution would be $900/month.

If she wanted to cover me with it, her contribution would be $1,500/month, and her employer's would be $900/month.

Unsurprisingly, we did not take advantage of this, and she remains on my insurance (Since my employer handles 90% of the premium for both of us.)

When we were still dating, I had a good look at what the $300/month health plans provided. Absolutely flippin nothing. Deductibles of $8,000/year, and co-pays of 25%. If all you can afford is a $300/month plan, there's no way in hell you can afford an $8,000/year + 25% medical bill.

Meanwhile, Canada provides universal healthcare for $5,200 USD/year/person, with similar health outcomes.

Edit: fixed a typo in the employer's contribution.

I think you made a typo. $9000 a month is a small company’s entire cost.

Coinsurance is paid only until the out of pocket maximum is met, no?

I have a plan on the state exchange for around $300/month and an out of pocket max around $8k (I'm 34 years old).

I just budget $12k/year for healthcare and move on. This seems reasonable for people who can afford to take the risk of potentially having to pay anywhere from $4-12k/year.

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