Question of the day: How much do you pay for health insurance?
A letter arrived in the mail the other day telling us it’s time to renew our health insurance for 2025. We are self employed. We qualify for ZERO discounts. Every single year the premiums keep going up.
To stay on the same plan we have now, it will cost us $1,828.14 {an increase of $199.13 a month/$2,289.56 a year}. That means in 2025 we will have to shell out $21,937.68 for health insurance PREMIUMS.
And then, if paying $21,937.68 a year for health insurance premiums wasn’t enough, if one of us has to have any sort of test or procedure {outside of a once a year physical or preventive care procedure} we will then also have to shell out up to an additional $19,000 before our insurance would pay 100%.
So that could bring our total for $40,937.68 OUT OF POCKET in 2025 for insurance.
And then to add insult to injury, yesterday we got a letter in the mail not only reminding us that it was time to renew our health insurance premiums, but that 4 out of 5 people qualify for plans that cost less than $10 a month.
Are you kidding me?
Now I’m no math genius here, but if 1 person is paying full price {me!} that means 4 other people are getting one heck of a deal because they are paying less than $10 a month!?
Seriously? When you break it down, doesn’t that really mean that I am paying for the health care of 4 other people?
How is that right?
So my question to you is: How much are you paying for health insurance premiums each month? Are you employed? Self employed?
How much is healthcare costing YOU these days? How much do you pay for health insurance?
~Mavis
Brianna says
Wowza, crazy, but definitely not unheard of. My dad was a self-employed architect and my mom a RN growing up and their health insurance was pricey too. My dad would always be so upset over it all, he was paying almost $4000 a MONTH his senior years! His entire Social Security was going to those expensive monthly premiums. He only took I think part B? Medicare, but it still was a terrible part strain. I was preached a lot about the value of having good and affordable health insurance.
My hubby was active duty military for 23 years, so we had good insurance then. After he retired we moved to an area where it was difficult to find a provider to take the insurance and our copays became ridiculous because everything was out of network. We even downgraded to their most basic plan so we could just see Docs in the area. After a few non-network urgent care/ER visits with my kids and the resulting bills, I was annoyed with the system. The insurance wanted me to travel over 90 minutes to a network ER/UC….with a 9 yo kid who has a tendon and bone poking out of his arm! I negotiated the bill and decided being a military retiree sucked if you live and work in the wrong area. We had a lot of bills piling up and our budget as a young family was strained because of it. It was not sustainable. The insurance is good, if you are in the network. So we moved….one of many reasons was because the lack of ease with our insurance.
We now live in an area where it is easier to use and find providers who will accept it. We have a $4500 deductible for our family of 5. We hit it every year unfortunately. I think our premium is around $3000 a year (it is pulled from his retirement). There are loopholes though and I got caught in one last summer when I had a major and life changing medical event and it stopped paying the incoming bills. A phone call and a bit more money to get out of the loophole to get stuff covered again. We have the option of going with the prime insurance of no copay’s, but I don’t want to be told who to see and when and how many times with a referral. Too complicated with a child who has special needs, another child with a rare immune disorder, my chronic issue, and a very wounded hubby (he uses the VA, but he needs the option to get other opinions with his care or get him out of their system sometimes).
I know many people who pay ridiculous amount for health insurance and many who pay nothing. We are in the middle. It is a business and the value of one person over another and premiums is infuriating. There are many who choose to be uninsured, but that is risky I think.
Toni Wood says
We are retired military also. If you can hang on until you qualify for Medicare your problems are truly over. I’m 81 now and since going on Medicare, Tricare for Life has paid every single cent that Medicare did not pay. All those promises of free medical finally happened. Understand about no providers in the area also. I think medical personnel should lose their license if they will not take what Uncle Sam has provided for us.
Wendy C. says
I think my premium is around $2,300 for me, my husband and my daughter. But thankfully my employer pays 100% of all of it! Whew! However, it has a very high deductible (but not high enough to qualify as a high deductible plan where we could have an HSA).
Eye says
Why this country needs a single paying health care plan. Americans pay the highest rates for medical care and for paying those insane rates have the highest morbidity/ mortality rates! In other words the US ranks at the BOTTOM for health care compared to 50 other wealthiest western countries in the world. Yes, several 3rd world countries deliver better health care at a third of the price of the US. We are being scammed by the insurance and health industry! Ask congress why this is? And, it doesn’t have to do with the Universal Health care plan!!!
Ellen says
I agree with you 100%. I worked in healthcare for about three years, and in that time, I saw plenty of people with what we’d consider “good” health insurance wind up with medical bills that they struggled to pay – and that’s if their care was even covered by their health insurance at all.
I have a sibling who’s an expat, and while her country’s single payer plan isn’t perfect (longer waits and fewer choices for routine/non-emergency visits seem to be her biggest complaints, although neither of those things have prevented her from getting emergency care in a hurry), it’s such a huge improvement over what we have here. She pays nothing for premiums and functionally nothing for medical care that would cost tens of thousands in the U.S.
There is absolutely no reason – short of passing legislation – why it couldn’t be that way for us too.
lisa in Maine says
I’ve worked in healthcare for over 30 years. Medicare and Medicaid have all sorts of stupid rules that cost the tax payer and leave the patient wanting. There would have to be some serious reform before expanding to single payor. I don’t know what the answer is but the system is broken. We have good insurance through my husbands company but it’s well over $1000/month
Patti Vanderbloemen says
I have been self insured since 2003 and it has, at times, almost broke me! At one point, my premium was just over $2,300 per month (just me…not my spouse)! Every year my premiums have gone up and down. For 2024, my monthly premium is $936. It’s going up to $986 for 2025. Luckily (but not really), I turn 65 NEXT December and will have some sort of Medicare Plan. But, I have been advised that, based on 2025 guidelines, the Medicare Plan will cost me nearly as much as my current plan. I won’t even get into what is NOT included in my current plan.
The healthcare system in the US is so broken, and has been for so long. Once insurance companies privatized and, and used their profits to pay their CEO’s, the consumer lost.
Healthcare and Insurance Agencies are both subjects that immediately raise my blood pressure,
Dawn says
Same here. See my story below about the excesses of the health insurance industry.
Recently, a friend of mine who has prostate cancer was called by his insurance carrier the day before his scheduled removal surgery and told his carrier found a cheaper doctor and hospital a 90 minute drive away and that he would have to cancel his scheduled surgery and re-schedule at the new place. He told them where to go and had his surgery as scheduled.
sdsb says
This is exactly why after I retire from teaching, I will find another job based in not $ but quality and cost of insurance. if not for family I would seriously consider moving to another country because of health insurance and care.
Cindy R says
I pay for my own health insurance. I am in Florida and pay $1200/month for health and dental. The dental plan is about $35.00 a month also with Florida Blue. My health plan is increasing an additional $100 per month for 2025. I don’t even have the best coverage and have high out of pocket costs. It is crazy. Additionally I pay another $2200 per year for a concierge type Dr because it was hard to find a primary care Dr and even harder to schedule appointments. What upset me was watching the news and seeing illegal immigrants were receiving free medical insurance in addition to a slew of other benefits (that my taxes pay for) and all I could think of was what about me, one of the people who actually pay taxes and pay for their health insurance plans.
Jen says
My husband is a self-employed farmer. We pay $2,980 per month for husband (60), me (53) and son (17). With premium and out of pocket max of $15,000, we need to have $50,760 for healthcare. Blessed to be able to pay it, but not a lot left over for anything else. This is where frugality comes in!
Dawn says
A few years ago I worked as a PA for a business coach/author. I’m talking a mentor to C-suite and highly comped executives at Google, Apple and many a health insurer.
During that time he was booked to give a weekend workshop to the c-suite and other executives for a multi-national health insurance company. He is based in Switzerland so his travel and lodging were covered additional to his weekend workshop fee of $100k. This company also flew in 30 of their most highly compensated employees for this workshop and booked out an entire spa/inn on a lake in Georgia.
About a week later the assistant to the CEO of that company called me to ask for my address as they had a “swag bag” to send to me. All attendees received one as a thank you for attending but my boss was unable to carry it back to Switzerland with him so he told them to send it to me as a gift. His only request was that I send him a list of what was in the box so he could send a thank you. Inside the box was some branded merchandise. A golf umbrella (still have it), a fleece blanket, a jacket, some golf club covers, a small soft-sided cooler and a wine bottle opener. I had never seen anything like the wine bottle opener and I knew I wouldn’t use it so I figured I would see if it was worth anything and sell it. That wine bottle opener cost $349. (My boss ended up asking me to send it to him so no little bonus for me.)
There were 30 attendees at that weekend workshop. The bottle opener alone came at a price tag of $10k. I cannot even imagine how much it cost them to provide transportation, meals and drinks and rent out an entire inn/spa, and did I mention, all attendees were also gifted with complimentary spa treatments and massages?
Health insurance is a money making scam.
Mrs. C. says
My veterinarian was just telling me about the same thing – her situation is similar, and the coverage does not include Rx benefits. She wasn’t sure about the group sharing plans, either; some are good, but many are horrible.
I have heard of one that has received good reviews, (but which I do not use because we have employer-paid insurance): https://www.solidarityhealthshare.org/. She is looking into it. I also recently started to use GoodRx.com because my insurance won’t pay for certain prescriptions.
Eli says
I personally had to be self insurance due to getting kicked off another, and for a single 24 yr old man it was $400 a month, with a deductible of $2.5k. That was through the state run marketplace (Kentucky). My parents haven’t been using the state marketplace and have been paying 1600 since they are also self employed. But next year using the state marketplace seems like it will cost them 1100, while also getting a 700 tax credit (while still having above avg income for their area). So it is good to shop around.
OregonGuest says
Self-employed here, about $2,200/mo for spouse, college-age dependent and me, for HSA policy with monster individual and family deductibles. We would make a different choice, but all other available options in our state (short-term, non-Obamacare options) do not covers things related to outdoor activities we do (dirt bike riding, scuba, snowmobile), so we are stuck, with an unaffordable policy just in case something happens, even though we pretty much never go to the doctor (a year or two or longer goes by and we just don’t have a need to go). Obamacare was the worst thing to happen. Ever. I feel your pain, frustration and disgust, Mavis!!!
Kellah Berube says
There are some healthcare cost sharing organizations like Medi-Share and Christian Healthcare Ministries. I am sure there are more than those. When I researched it a few years back you could pay your doctor and submit for reimbursement. The prices were modest. Certainly much less than the numbers you have posted. You might need to do some research on comparisons, etc. Good luck.
Linda says
I am 78 and have Medicare and Medicaid. I pay no copay. I think my fee each month to insurance is $9. I have about six specialists I must see.
Carla says
We have insurance through my husband’s work. It is a high deductible plan, so we put over $5000 in the HSA over the year. Our premiums for a family plan is over $5000 per year.
I’m not really a fan of national health care. I know someone in Canada who was diagnosed with breast cancer, but couldn’t get into a doctor. There literally wasn’t one within a 5 hour drive for her. (And she doesn’t live in the boonies.) After about 6 months, she was able to see a PA, but what emotional torture for the waiting. She was unable to get any treatment until she saw a doctor. Not sure that a national healthcare would help.
Karla says
My husband & I are self-employed, and we’ve opted to use a health care sharing plan. Our premium for 2 adults is $534 monthly. Our “share” goes to pay the medical bills of other people on our plan, and in turn we would receive payment of medical bills we submit. There is a $1250 deductible per incident, so sharing only occurs after we’ve paid $1250 for a claim. In this day & age, $1250 accrues incredibly fast. In addition to our premium, we set aside money each month in what I call our own personal health savings account to have funds to pay for deductibles and vision and dental needs.
I agree that the health insurance industry is broken, and Dawn’s story describes unconscionable behavior. I don’t have any answers for how to fix this on a national level – there are only so many issues I can be well versed on. Be sure to do your research if you decide to look into a health care sharing plan.
Diana says
We have Kaiser paid in full through my husband’s retirement plan. He also was able to retire at 49 so feel very fortunate!
Susan says
Holy cow!!! No wonder people go without health insurance! That’s crazy expensive!
I’m extremely fortunate in that my husband retired early and because he never left is company, his union benefits included not only a pension but retirement medical that covers a spouse. He retired at 57 before we got married and his pension is his only, upon his death, I will not get any of that. But, his health coverage covers both of us once we got married and it is $20/month per person.
If he didn’t have that, I would not have been able to retire. We are enjoying a relaxed life of adventuring as we want and are able to live off the pension and a small bit of investment dividends.