Buying Health Insurance - Infuriating

[CS1983]

Did I already ask you if CHM covers dental as well?

They do not, but they do have some recommendations:

http://www.chministries.org/dentalvision.aspx

[Irving]

Thanks.

[Jamnanc]

Dental insurance sucks even if you have it. Try a preventive maintenance plan with a local dentist. My dental is like 80/20 if you need anything more than a filling. Just don't forget to SAVE what you don't spend on the plan for a major bill.

[Irving]

Well, I'm doing a pretty good job building up my HSA. An HSA can pay for dental stuff I believe.

[Great-Kazoo]

Dental insurance sucks even if you have it. Try a preventive maintenance plan with a local dentist. My dental is like 80/20 if you need anything more than a filling. Just don't forget to SAVE what you don't spend on the plan for a major bill.

DELTA DENTAL.
The wife researched all dental plans / Coverage available. I asked my medicare / Plan B rep who also offers dental plans. He told me nothing beats Delta for the cost. Granted every plan covers nothing you would really need if serious dental work was needed.

[Madeinhb]

It gets worse. Cafeteria plans [aka health insurance from your employer] cannot be canceled outside of enrollment periods, even when they jack up the rates sky high. Further, their enrollment period (the insurance company) can be any arbitrary date in the year, it doesn't match the "exchange" enrollment period.... and they can neglect to tell you when this period is. So you can get locked into one arbitrary plan - can't even change plans within the same insurance company - while they crank prices and modify everything under your feet. If paying insurance through an employer, you literally have your hand forced to continue payments once you begin - hell or high water, statutorily you cannot cancel, period until you are fired or you manage to catch their arbitrary two week period. Can't buy food? Too fucking bad. Zero methods around this to cancel an employer health insurance plan outside of say divorcing or killing one of your family members - or getting fired.
weeks notice.

Not really true or insurances fault. The Open Enrollment period is not arbitrary. It is set when the employer signs the contract. If the employer signs up in May, then open enrollment is every May typically. It's also your employers responsibility to tell you when and give you the new info and rates that the employer agreed to.

[Irving]

Not really true or insurances fault. The Open Enrollment period is not arbitrary. It is set when the employer signs the contract. If the employer signs up in May, then open enrollment is every May typically. It's also your employers responsibility to tell you when and give you the new info and rates that the employer agreed to.

The last company I worked at the open enrollment was the same time every year, regardless of who started when.

[Madeinhb]

The last company I worked at the open enrollment was the same time every year, regardless of who started when.

Yup. It's based on the yearly contract between employer and insurance company. Employees start date doesn't matter.

[Skip]

I feel your pain OP.

We are paying a lot, almost as much as our mortgage, for a pretty crappy plan that according to our insurance guy we are lucky to have because I am self employed and insurers are pulling out of the small biz/employer market.

I have close friends (two bread winners) where one of them is pretty much working for insurance and retirement. She nets nothing that comes home.

Every time I think about healthcare I get angry. I don't understand why people have allowed Dems to doublespeak "affordable" and defend this Obamacare mess. I have yet to know a single person in real life that has benefited. Most people on the internet who claim to have benefited don't understand how insurance works (copays, deductibles, etc).

[TFOGGER]

Affordable Care Act my ass...my wife's position evaporated in June 2015. We now have coverage with a 500% higher deductible and 1000% higher annual out of pocket, for a mere 425% increase in premium (total, omitting the chunk hre employer used to kick in, so an apples to apple comparison). In reality, we went from about $110/month for both of us to $880 a month. That's $28 more than our mortgage.

I have friend with a son that's a hemophiliac. She's the one person I can think of that has benefitted from this fustercluck.