Help with Health Insurance!

[MSC]

Long story short, I landed a new job and now my wife and I have three options to choose from for health insurance:

1. Tri-care Reserve Select
2. My employer (which provides three options including a high-deductible, a hybrid, and a traditional copay plan)
3. My wife's insurance (which is a traditional copay plan, but $0 co-pay for many services if they're done through the employer--she works at a hospital)

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to approach this problem?

What's the best way to compare the insurance options?

My "gut" feeling is to go with the high-deductible plan through my employer. It's zero cost to our family, and they provide the first $600 in an HSA annually. On top of that, preventive maintenance is zero deductible/copay. Once my wife returns from maternity leave, I can cancel insurance through my employer, and they will pay $200/month towards any family plan at another insurer (my wife's is about $150/month), and we can save the extra $25.

We're expecting our first child here in a couple of weeks and I sure could use some help on where to start.

Help!

[protostache]

One way to go about it is to figure out how much health care you consumed over the last few years and, if that's predictive of the next year (it should be, barring major medical things) then compare how much that would cost under the eight different plans available.

Isn't Tri-care really good? I thought it was one of the best options out there, and it looks like it's $206/mo premium (http://www.tricare.mil/Costs/HealthPlanCosts/TRS.aspx).

[MSC]

I just put some of the key information side-by-side in a table and you're right, TRS looks like it could be a winner.

[rubybeth]

Edited to add: And now I see you just posted a chart like I suggested. :)

One thing I do when comparing insurance options is make a chart in a spreadsheet of the actual plan costs. So the columns I have are:

Monthly premium
Annual total premium (monthly x12)
Deductible
Maximum out of pocket (if different than deductible--some plans have a much higher MOP, so beware)
Total cost of premium + deductible (assuming you reach the deductible)
Total cost of premium + max out of pocket (assuming you reach MOP--this is worst case scenario stuff)

But then there are other factors, like how much you'll use the insurance. I don't use my health insurance much, but my husband uses his a lot, so we are on separate plans (no kids), with me on a higher deductible (read: cheaper) plan than he is. But we can afford the premiums and maximum out of pocket totals with what's in our HSAs.

With a baby on the way, I would assume you'd be using it a lot in the year the baby is born, and maybe even a lot in the years after that. You should also know generally how many doctor visits you do annually for each person covered, plus any Rx costs. I was honestly shocked the first year I did a comparison like this. We ditched my employer's high priced coverage for the state's exchange when the ACA happened, and have saved thousands on health insurance.

[MSC]

One thing I do when comparing insurance options is make a chart in a spreadsheet of the actual plan costs. So the columns I have are:

Monthly premium
Annual total premium (monthly x12)
Deductible
Maximum out of pocket (if different than deductible--some plans have a much higher MOP, so beware)
Total cost of premium + deductible (assuming you reach the deductible)
Total cost of premium + max out of pocket (assuming you reach MOP--this is worst case scenario stuff)

But then there are other factors, like how much you'll use the insurance. I don't use my health insurance much, but my husband uses his a lot, so we are on separate plans (no kids), with me on a higher deductible (read: cheaper) plan than he is. But we can afford the premiums and maximum out of pocket totals with what's in our HSAs.

With a baby on the way, I would assume you'd be using it a lot in the year the baby is born, and maybe even a lot in the years after that. You should also know generally how many doctor visits you do annually for each person covered, plus any Rx costs. I was honestly shocked the first year I did a comparison like this. We ditched my employer's high priced coverage for the state's exchange when the ACA happened, and have saved thousands on health insurance.

Ha, this is funny because as you were posting this I was creating the same chart.

[rubybeth]

Ha, this is funny because as you were posting this, I was creating the same chart.

Yep, just edited my post to say I saw you added the chart. Excellent!!

[MSC]

Isn't Tri-care really good? I thought it was one of the best options out there, and it looks like it's $206/mo premium (http://www.tricare.mil/Costs/HealthPlanCosts/TRS.aspx).

The only problem with Tri-care is that no one around her accepts it, and everything would have to be paid up front. I guess it's no big deal since we have the money and they OOP max is set at $1,000.

The wife's plan would probably be the best deal, however she's going on extended maternity leave and will have to pay full price for a few months (which essentially negates the savings).

The other thing with Tri-care is that I have to be in the military. My commitment ends in May so I'll have to make a decision then whether to stay in or not.

[Nords]

The other thing with Tri-care is that I have to be in the military. My commitment ends in May so I'll have to make a decision then whether to stay in or not.

TRS also requires that you be in a drill billet.  If you end up in the IRR, or if you transfer from one unit to another with a gap in billet continuity, then you'd lose your TRS eligibility.

If your drill billet gives you a chance to go on orders of at least 30 days (ADSW or mobilization) then you (and your family) would again be eligible for Tricare Prime or Tricare Standard.

As part of the total health insurance comparison, you may also want to take a look at dental and vision from your civilian employers.  The Reserve/Guard are no help there.

[MSC]

We decided to go with TRS. It makes the most sense for at least the next nine months, until I can leave the military.

As part of the total health insurance comparison, you may also want to take a look at dental and vision from your civilian employers.  The Reserve/Guard are no help there.

For what it's worth, Tri-Care now offers the TRICARE Dental Program (TDP) (http://www.tricare.mil/CoveredServices/Dental/TDP.aspx) which is pretty competitive with the civilian side!