Twenty years ago the average American employ wouldn’t have dreamed of turning down company insurance in order to buy a private policy.
Group health insurance was the answer.
The company bore the brunt of the cost while employees paid minimal premiums and coughed up necessary, but equally as low co-pays. Add to that package a prescription drug card and it looks, on the surface, like insurance Utopia. Not anymore.
According to a report in 2007 by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the cost of employer-sponsored health care rose by 6.1%. This followed a 7.7% increase the year before and a 9.3% jump in 2005. Those costs are being passed onto employees. Employees with families get hit the hardest.
The bright side of buying a private health insurance policy is that if your family is relatively healthy, prices on the open market are relatively competitive. The other perk is that you only have to buy what you need. That is rarely, if ever, an option when choosing employer provided insurance.
If you have a pre-existing condition then your best bet may be to stick with your employer’s insurance. Though premiums may be higher, higher is better than no coverage at all. It’s a catch twenty-two and a decision that only you can make. Weigh your options. Can you really afford not to be covered?
