Out of Pocket Medical Expenses?

[LeonPhelps]

Hey Gang!! No flames here please, just a simple inquiry. I got a buddy starting to apply for airlines who asked me a simple question tonight, "What do the various airlines charge for the monthly premiums on health care?" I told him I didn't know, but that I have a great big group of friends who do! Now, the idea isn't to try and say, "My Airline is better than yours...", but rather to simply help a new guy getting into the "biz" understand some of the costs associated with doing so.

Anyhow, I know the ins and outs vs. deductibles, blah, blah, blah...but would some of you mind just passing along what you pay out of pocket monthly at the various airlines for health care for premiums? Thanks...and of course, I also recommended that he should get started on flightinfo right away. Fresh Meat!!!

Now, back to my regularly scheduled bottle of coursvossier!

--Cheers!

 

[wmuflyguy]

Comair, is just under 19 bucks a paycheck (twice a month) for single person.

Dental is like 2 dollars a paycheck

 

[328dude]

Med,Dental and vision cost me $62 a month with no deductible for a family of 3.

 

[QCappy]

For a family of 4:

$182/mo for Med/Dental/vision.

$15 co-pay

$200 individual annual deductible

$500 family annual deductible

.......and a Kastration.

 

[linepilot]

JetBlue:

$250/month premium for family
$800 deductible per calendar year
10% co-insurance - meaning you pay 10% for everything including hospitization, surgery, doctor visits, etc.
Huge list of drugs and procedures which ARE NOT covered. Forget about anything that is even CLOSE to elective.
All claims are initially denied. It's up to you to fight for each and every penny.

So:
$3000 per year for premiums
$800 for the deductible (which YOU WILL pay)
and let's say your kid spends a week in the hospital one year, then your co-insurance will kick in and YOU will pay 10% of a potential $30,000 hospital bill. Your drugs are NOT a flat rate either so a family of five might experience something like $50 or $150 per month for medication.

All told, you might be looking at:

Low: $3000 annually if you NEVER go to the doctor and none of your family requires medication.

Median: $4000 annually if you needed a few doctors visits, you met your deductible and your family requires some medication.

High: $7000 annually if one person in your family has a problem and if more than one requires medication and frequent care from a doctor.

$3000 to $7000 a year for a family of four, much more if you're talking about a chronic illnesses.

DO NOT take a job at Jetblue if you have a sick family member.

It's one of the reasons I left. Of course, there's no shortage of pilots at Jetblue who will tell you that this plan is more than reasonable and will then proceed to school you on the high cost of health care in America. Then they will offer you some blue kool-aide to help prevent those pesky doctors visits. I took some kool-aide home to my kids but it didn't seem to help.