Quote:
Originally Posted by Nucky
Many of the last posts are slipping off into the care people receive. That ain't da subject here. Coverage for young's is.
Everybody here has stories about the shortcoming of medical care around these parts. I wonder if anybody has success stories? Once I got past the ER in The Villages Hospital I got what I think was great care. All except for the severe infection I got from rusty instruments in the Operating Room. Just kidding. I don't know where I got it in the hospital but I went in there uninfected. The only reason I didn't lawyer up is it may have dragged my primary doctor into the situation somehow and I wouldn't do that to him or her for all the money the people have on the other side of Route 44.
Back to more people who I really respect who have Bronze instead of Silver, Gold, or Platinum. Let's go for more info, please. I gotta make a decision by December 15th.
|
Hey Nucky, our insurance is in Mass, not Florida. That being said, I believe all the metallic tires of health insurance are the same regardless of state. Being the rather quantitative/analytical person that I am, I put together a very detailed spreadsheet with all the details of each metallic tier and ran through several hypothetical insurance need scenarios. My analysis showed, hands down, that the Bronze tier was the best option (cheapest) under the widest range of scenarios.
At the end of the year, if one has a series of unfortunate health events, the insured always ends up paying almost exactly the same amount regardless of the tier. With the Platinum, you pay up front in the form of premiums but pay way less over time as you utilize health care. With the Bronze, you pay way less up front in the form of premiums but must pay a lot more over time as you utilize health care. If one is very sick and anticipates needing lots of health care, it’s best to go with the highest premium Platinum tier, as most bills are covered so the insured won’t have the hassle of having to pay for everything a-La-cart. On the other end of the spectrum, the Bronze tier has the lowest premiums, but the insured has to deal with the hassle of paying for just about everything a-la-cart until they reach the annual max out of pocket.
The biggest difference between the Platinum and the Bronze is that if the insured is fortunate enough to have a very healthy year, and needs only basic health care, they will save lots of money in the lower premium Bronze tier.
The gold and silver tiers fall somewhere in between the two, with the gold being closer to the platinum tier, and the silver being closer to the bronze tier.
In summary, the Bronze tier always has the potential to be the cheapest tier if the insured has a healthy year, but also has the potential to be the most work for the insured if they wind up requiring extensive health care. The Platinum tier is typically the most expensive tier unless the insured has a very unhealthy year (then the cost of all plans winds up almost exactly the same), but the insured has the benefit of less ongoing work as the coverage is more extensive.
The biggest advantages of the Bronze tier is that you pay the lowest premiums and if your health care needs are minimal it’s absolutely the cheapest plan. That huge advantage is offset by the fact that if your health care needs become extensive, the pay as you go becomes lots more work for the same cost. That disadvantage is what makes the pricing of the bronze tiers premiums so cheap, as the hassle of paying as you go discourages the insured from seeking health care unless it’s absolutely necessary.
Kind of long winded, but hope that helps.