How Much Do You Pay for Independent Family Health Coverage?

Kaiser has an excellent plan for children only. It is called the Child Health Plan- I have 3 kids and pay only $24.00 a month for them to have full coverage. I don't pay anything for doctor visits, prescriptions I pay $5.00, most speciality appointments are $5.00 and hospital stays are either $5.00 or free.

We pay $400.00 a month for me through my husbands plan (Kaiser also) and it is outrageous what we have to pay for the doctors, hospitalization and prescriptions.

H.,

We just recently went through the same situation. We currently are covered by cobra where we only pay 35% of the premium for up to 9 mos. That is the choice we made for now, which will give us time to look around for other insurance. You will get a packet regarding cobra and the people there have been helpful with any questions that I have had. You can also look into healthy families. I know many people that have had to go that route and as long as you can have insurance coverage for peace of mind.

Good luck

Look into Kaiser's HSA plans for you and your hubby (so long as you are both healthy).
Make sure it covers Maternity in case you need it.
Then look into either Healthy Families for the girls or Kaiser's Child Health Plan. They offer full coverage plans for very little cost.
I recommend staying with Kaiser if you can help it since you already know your way around. Going from a one-stop HMO to an all over town PPO may not be the best idea right now.
Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

My husband and I have a small business and we have to pay for our own insurance. It is out rageous what we have to pay. Since our vbusiness doesn't make us any profits, I have put my daughter on Healthy Families. So you might want to check that out. It is with the State of California.
Good Luck. It is a tough world.

Oh I feel you on this one, my friends that dont pay for health insurance have no idea. My husband company takes his out of his check and it was cheaper to put me & the girls on a family plan not through his work. We have Kaiser and I choose the 1500 family HSA, its the cheapest monthly and you do pay high ded when the kids get sick but after the ded paid all services are free for that year. Or you may want to try the 1500 ded plan. go to insure.com and you can enter your family info and get a bunch of quotes. So we pay a lower monthly but if the girls go to the dr not for a check up like when they are sick it cost $75 and we pay max. ded $3000 family for the year. It is a health savings account and also has tax benefits. Hope this helps.

H. I feel your pain. I have been on an independent plan since I was laid off in 2005 - COBRA was too expensive. It's a Blue Shield co-pay $35 PPO plan that has no deductible for office visits. Unnfortunately it has gone up to $192 and will increase to $220 in July (first I turned 35, then the rates were raised.) I'm actually in the process of "shopping" them right now, but I don't see much difference out there amongst carriers. My husband is covered by his job, but they only pay half - half is 176 - so his would be about $350 (Kaiser) if we paid the whole thing. He is 42. There are some plans out there that will give you more than major emergency after a deductible that are cheaper than mine - you have to just look at them and weigh how much you go to the MD versus the money per month.

I used to pay $92 per child per month on an kids plan through Blue Cross until our income also fell by about 50% (husband is in construction sales) and I looked into Healthy Families. I didn't think we'd qualify, but we did, barely. And it's great. My son has had a major medical scare and all I've paid is $5 co-pays. I am more thankful than I can say about HF - even if we're only on it for a year or two while the economy recovers and our jobs recover (I also have limited hours at my job). It helps so much. We chose the HF Blue Cross PPO because we had previously had a Blue Cross independent for kids and it's pretty much all the same, but better coverage. My rate is $18 a month, but since I pay on auto pay, it's $13.

I think you should look into Healthy Families for your kids. Once you get signed up with them, maybe you can get the reduced COBRA rates through the stimulus plan for just yourself and your husband. Health insurance is of course important, but what good does it do if it makes you go bankrupt? It's all about research and it's time consuming and frustrating. Message me if you have any other questions. :-)

As part of the stimulus package, if you loose your medical coverage between September 2008 - December 2009 due to change in employment status (reduced hours, etc.), you can continue on Cobra and only pay 35% of the Cobra premiums for up to 9 months (after the 9 months is over, you will have to pay for the full cost of Cobra if you want to continue). Check out the details under the American Recovery and Reinvestments Act (ARRA) http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq-cobra-premiumreductionER...

This might be a good option until you find something for the long term. Good luck!

My husband is in a commission only job in the car business and last year was our toughest year we have ever had. Our income dropped 40%. We also were scrambling as to what to do about our 2nd highest bill (health coverage) for myself and our two kids (no employer paid benefits on the family, so we have always purchased our own).

I have the child health plan from Kaiser for my two kids. The income guideline are on the website. www.kp.org. The child health plan should be under their individual health plans. And it comes with dental too!! I am so grateful to of found this otherwise I don't know what we would of done.

I put myself on their $1500 deductible health plan when I couldn't afford their best plan the $25 copayment plan. It was $120 a month cheaper than the $25 co payment plan I had and the coverage is still decent.

Best of luck. I hope you find something that works out.

Your husband should be covered under the new COBRA laws which require his employer to pay 65% of the premium for his health insurance. You need to check in to that. I am thinking it would be cheaper to go that route. He will be eligible for that coverage for 18 months! You would then have to pay the difference. If you don't wish to go that route, you could look in to Healthy Families, or I know that Blue Sheild does children only health plans.....Good Luck, and so sorry to hear about the layoff.

Health insurance costs vary so much with age and history. Both my husband and I are 40 and he has no prior medical problems. Although I'm covered at work it's too expensive to add my husband and daughter to the small group plan, so we're applying for an indepent plan for them. I found a high-deductible PPO plan through Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield that is less than $200 per month for both my husband and 2-year-old daughter. I've always liked Kaiser myself, but this Anthem plan seemed to be a better bargain for the coverage offered.

Hi H.,

I, too, want to recommend CA Healthy Families (you can Google it). And I'm praying that the Governor doesn't do away with it as he has announced.

One additional piece of advice: If you have any trouble qualifying because of your recent income, ask for your local Healthy Families representative. The people at the 800 number repeatedly told me that I'd have to wait 3 months after cancelling our other coverage, but our local representative got my kids on right away. You can ask for the name and number of your local rep by speaking to someone on the 800 number.

Also, I selected Anthem Blue Cross for my kids' plan because that's what they'd been on previously. However, I discovered that they didn't cover my daughter's asthma medication, and her allergist said that Health Net would. Luckily, Healthy Families lets you switch plans within the first three months. You might want to ask your physician if there are any issues with the available policies related to your kids' health.

Good luck!

Hi, H.,
I understand what you are going through right now...panic! I was in the same boat but last December when my husband got laid off. I work part time but could only put my husband and I on my insurance (and it still takes more than 50% of my paycheck each month). We put our daughter on Calif. Healthy Families. She has Kaiser (as we've had since her birth, do didn't need to change doctors), dental, and vision coverage....and we pay $17 a month. And that's the high end. Since you're not working and you have more than one child, you probably will pay less. BUT.....the only thing that scares me death right now is that the Govenor wants to cut back or cut out Healthy Families from the budget. I think he'll have a fight on his hand and I encourage everyone to write their legislatures so this won't happen. It's such a great program and it's helping so so many people right now....

As for COBRA, yes, with the new stimulas plan you'd only pay 35% of it but I"m not sure it it's for 6 months or one year and then you go back up to the 101%. I know it's such a hard choice but you can't afford not to have coverage. Good luck and if you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me.

M.

We got hit by the tough economy too. What we used and were very happy with was https://www.ehealthinsurance.com. It is a lot cheaper than most insurance plans, and you can specify the coverage that you want. We even used this when my husband was doing contract work. The plan we got through ehealthinsurance was better than what the contractor offered us. It goes without saying that it is cheaper than cobra. Cobra is a joke.

Good Luck!
K.

I thank God for California Healthy Families. There are strict income guidelines with proof necessary for the previous three months, but it is the best insurance for children. I have blue shield, full coverage, $5 office visit, $5 er visit, pick my own doctor. It is only $15.00 a month. I know, insane right. The only bummer is that we, the parents, are not covered. I would suggest you apply right now for your children, because you can use your previous three months to qualify. I don't have the website. Google "Healthy Families California". Look under the income guidelines to see if you qualify. Count all people in your home kids and parents. I think a family of 4 is between $2,444-4,440 or something like that.
Good luck, feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions.

H.,
I am an independent contractor, Realtor, and I pay $930.00 per month for my 14 year old son and myself. My husband's Cobra coverage ended a couple of years ago and we pay $876.00 per month for his coverage, alone. Total = $1,806.00 for the 3 of us. All 3 of us are covered by Kaiser; but even if we joined or combined our plans, we would end up paying more (?).
Just an FYI ~ my mother was widowed at the age of 37 with four children (ages 13,12,5 (me), 4) and one thing that she instilled in us that we always need to keep our insurance. To tell you the truth; I have the greatest doctors for my son, I love my doctor; and my husband loves his doctors as well.
To me, it is worth every penny (AS HARD AS IT IS TO MAKE THE PAYMENTS).
Good luck to you and your family. I do believe that things will be changing in the future, soon, I hope.

Lucy B.

I believe, because your husband lost his job, he might be qualified to pay 35% of COBRA insurance, which is what families usually get after leaving a job w/insurance.

At my school, teaching associates can only work for the school for two yr. Our TA had to leave after this year, and he is going to pay 35% of COBRA fees for health insurance.

Check it out.
s

Greetings H.: Our family has been where you are now. We found that Kaiser cost our family about $1,000.00 a month for our family. We tried looking elsewhere found that because of pre-exsisting conditions we couldn't afford to change either. Try going through the welfare department for coverage for the children and checking into whatever the state has to offer for those out of work. I am hopeful that you can get coverage. It is hard to be without insurance we finally got it from Social Security for our disabled son, my husband and myself. Just know that if you have a medical problem any er has to help you so don't fear for that. Good Luck Nana G

Hi H.,

I am a self-employed mother who is paying for our family health insurance.

Insurance plans always have clauses that you may not understand or will regret later for signing up under that plan. When you are talking to an insurance rep. it is always about what is the most expensive plan they can sell you to make their commission.

Anyhow, you have toddlers that do not require well care that much. When you pick an insurance plan it depends on your age and sex. If your husband is younger then you have him purchase the plan. Males are always cheaper then females. But, if he is older then you. Then you would be the primary subsriber. Age plays a role as well.

I am currently under Blue Shields plan 2500. It covers office visits and emergency as well for a price of $468 monthly. This is for me, my son and my husband. The pland is under me because I am younger then my husband. But my plan is still a little expensive because my son is under 2 yrs old and he needs well care at the moment.

I like Blues Shields because they have the best plan for your needs. If you use the providers in their network. It is even cheaper. Call BS today and get a quote. Stay away from Healt Net and county funded health insurance. Their services are limited. Contact an insurance broker and they can help you. Good luck!!!

Hi H.,

I have Kaiser insurance with me and my son on it. It is $241 a month and that includes dental insurance. It's not the best coverage but I'm no longer terrified that something will happen. All of the "well baby" visits are still only $15 though a random visit is now $75 but since you can email your Dr. I find I rarely make a random visit. Vacs are free too.

Call Kaiser or check out their site. I was surprised to find is was "doable" after I lost my job.

Good luck!
T.

Hi H.:
I know a great person who can do the leg work for you and find you the best health insurance/auto/life, etc., whatever you need because he is an independent insurance broker and he will get you the best rate for your situation.
His name is Steve Nakamura. He owns Nakamura Insurance Agency on Fair Oaks Boulevard. His phone number is ###-###-####. Tell him I referred you to him and he will take great care to help you out.

T. Y.

P.S. Good luck and the only advice I can tell you is never give up on your health insurance because it is probably more important than getting one of you back to work asap.

I recently had to shop for health insurance. i found that Blue Cross/Blue Shield offered a lot of different plans. I ended up getting one of their plans, the rates are reasonable and I am very happy with the coverage. I'm pretty sure they do the emergency only and also cover only children.