The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: Left on March 15, 2015, 06:29:17 PM
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I started working at the federal government, I'm looking through the healthcare options and I'm not sure if it is just me but they all seem expensive, as in around $120-150/month for just myself. Is this the case for any of you government/former employees as well?
I'm looking on http://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare.
I'm slightly less pissed about the vision/dental (I may opt out of vision and pay for glasses out of pocket) but the dental is about $20/month, I can put up with it but I won't be happy with it.
I'm peeved at this because working at local hospitals, the insurance for all three cost me about $30/month.
And because I'm ranting, I'll probably opt for the FEGLI life insurance basic + 5 times salary because it's $14 vs $8 / month due to my age (under 35). I'll lower the coverage once I build portfolio up more but at this rate, I feel like it's cheap enough for me to get for the time being.
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around $120-150/month for just myself. Is this the case for any of you government/former employees as well?
Those rates are very standard for US government employees, and they're only that good because the government pays most of the cost of premiums.
We have always paid between $100 and $150 BIWEEKLY for family coverage. Rates vary by geographic location, but the cheapest government HC available here right now for single coverage is $93.38 for a plan I've never heard of. Most of my coworkers carry BCBS basic and the rate is $137/month. The government pays the other $412/month of the total premium as part of your benefits package.
I'm slightly less pissed about the vision/dental (I may opt out of vision and pay for glasses out of pocket) but the dental is about $20/month, I can put up with it but I won't be happy with it.
The government options for dental and vision are overpriced and don't cover very much. They really only make sense under a very narrow set of circumstances. On the bright side, the basic health plans now cover 100% of preventative care for twice a year dental cleanings and an annual eye exam.
I'm peeved at this because working at local hospitals, the insurance for all three cost me about $30/month.
Your previous rate was an unheard of sweet deal. Government healthcare is actually a relatively good deal at $130/month. You'd pay much more than that if you had to buy it on the open market, unless your income is very low and you qualified for subsidies and cost sharing.
And because I'm ranting, I'll probably opt for the FEGLI life insurance basic + 5 times salary because it's $14 vs $8 / month due to my age (under 35). I'll lower the coverage once I build portfolio up more but at this rate, I feel like it's cheap enough for me to get for the time being.
The basic FEGLI coverage already pays out increasing multiple of your salary if you die under age 45. I'm 38 and it would pay 1.7x my salary if I die. Plus you have other death benefits as a federal employee, see for example http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/i'm-worth-more-dead-than-alive/msg585533/ but the summary is that your spouse starts collecting your pension immediately and also gets an immediate cash payout called the Basic Employee Death Benefit.
And then workers's comp pays additional survivor benefits if you die on the job. Not that I recommend it.