Getting an individual policy in the US is almost impossible, and amazingly expensive otherwise.
I currently have a US healthcare plan that covers emergency care only (I live in Japan, so this isn't a big deal). This means it doesn't cover things like 'seeing a doctor' or 'getting antibiotics for a lung infection', which is why I need to cut a check to the urgent care center I visited a few months ago when I was in-country.
Fortunately, the total bill was only about $150.
For this amazing service, I -- pardon the pun -- cough up $120 a month to Blue Cross. For a health care plan that, by and large, does not cover health care.
This is more than the cost of full coverage through the national healthcare system in Japan.
Should I desire a comprable plan, I'm looking at somewhere between $500 and $1000 per month. I'm healthy, thirty years old, don't smoke, am not overweight, and exercise regularly. If I wasn't any of those things, the numbers would be worse.
So, no, healthcare is mandatory for any company I work for in the US.
> This is more than the cost of full coverage through the national healthcare system in Japan.
Wait, what? I'm curious how you can manage to pay $120 for full coverage in Japan. I'm currently unemployed and will have to pay Y45000 (almost U$600) a month for national healthcare. When I was working I had private insurance provided by the company and of course the company paid part of it, but my share was still way over Y10000.
This means it doesn't cover things like 'seeing a doctor' or 'getting antibiotics for a lung infection', which is why I need to cut a check to the urgent care center I visited a few months ago when I was in-country.
My admittedly unpopular opinion is that that's exactly what health insurance should be. It should protect you from major unexpected expenses, and you should take care of minor expenses yourself. That's how insurance works for everything else: you don't expect your auto policy to cover oil changes or minor dents, or your homeowner's policy to pay if you accidentally break a plate.
If you have an expensive preexisting medical condition that you can't afford to pay for (which unfortunately often includes "being old"), what you need is subsidized care, not "insurance".
I currently have a US healthcare plan that covers emergency care only (I live in Japan, so this isn't a big deal). This means it doesn't cover things like 'seeing a doctor' or 'getting antibiotics for a lung infection', which is why I need to cut a check to the urgent care center I visited a few months ago when I was in-country.
Fortunately, the total bill was only about $150.
For this amazing service, I -- pardon the pun -- cough up $120 a month to Blue Cross. For a health care plan that, by and large, does not cover health care.
This is more than the cost of full coverage through the national healthcare system in Japan.
Should I desire a comprable plan, I'm looking at somewhere between $500 and $1000 per month. I'm healthy, thirty years old, don't smoke, am not overweight, and exercise regularly. If I wasn't any of those things, the numbers would be worse.
So, no, healthcare is mandatory for any company I work for in the US.