Monday, March 30, 2009

Money Saver Monday: Know your insurance plan

Ever since I first got insurance I've been a PPO partaker. I've always heard HMOs were not as good or more difficult, and Kaiser was good but you just get Kaiser. I like having the option to go to any doctor anywhere I want.

Now that my insurance will have to cover a) a hospital stay (operation (C-section) or not (hopefully!) and b) two new family members, I've been looking a bit closer at total costs.

Insurance varies by company/offering, but here's my bottom line:
  • C-Sections cost $50,000+
  • Natural birth with twins is more than $50,000 (!!)
  • If one or both twins is/are pre-term, they count as individuals and the deductible and max payments start again per child (which means if the kids are pre-term and need to be in the hospital a few days to a few weeks, I pay buckoo bucks

PPO:
  • Pays 90% of hospital stay after my deductible is met ($400/year) - the max out of pocket payment per year is $2,000
  • $20 co-pay for doctors leading up to the actual birth(s)
HMO:
  • Pays ALL of hospital stay
  • $30 co-pay for doctors leading up to the actual birth(s) as long as they're in network
  • After the boys come, I need one primary physician who can suggest other doctors (chiro, etc.) as needed

1 comment:

Krafty said...

Thanks for sharing this. Health insurance is still a total enigma for me. It drives me crazy to pay my $300 per month COBRA fee (plus a $2000 deductible) and I haven't gone to a doctor once since November!