How do you get your health insurance?

Just curious, given that each of these groups has a very distinct experience. I suppose the related question, which I can't also fit in here, is: are you happy with your coverage?

I have my insurance through my job. Benefits carried over in retirement.

Greenbeard said:

Just curious, given that each of these groups has a very distinct experience. I suppose the related question, which I can't also fit in here, is: are you happy with your coverage?

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I'm retired military, and I'm very, very happy with my health care coverage which - for those conservatives who claim it's unAmerican - is by definition socialized health care. I'm covered by both TRICARE and the VA...and the health care coverage I and my family have has saved my life, my wife's life (twice)...and next week, I'm about to get my left knee replaced (my right one was replaced in April). This means that yes, the taxpayers are paying for my knee replacements...but it also means that about a month later, I can continue to earn my paycheck and pay my proper share of taxes...

...whereas if I weren't able to get my knees replaced, I probably would be confined to a wheelchair, I wouldn't be able to work, and I'd be a burden on society. But thanks to the socialized health care that we call military health care, I am not and will never be a burden on society. That's why I'm so strongly for single-payer health care - it works, because I've experienced it first-hand for the past 35 years.

I get my health care through Saskatchewan Health. It is a universal health insurance program provided by and paid for by the government. I pay no premiums and when I need health care, I pay nothing. I pay for it though my taxes. I've never had any long wait times. There are wait times for some procedures.

Dual citizen, have OHIP government coverage in Ontario (Canada) which I'm very happy with.

I was self insured for decades- long before ACA- it wasn't pretty.

Finally broke down and went to the VA. Got 60% disability and thus a group 1 rating. Got better treatment on my first visit than ANY other civilian appt EVER. I wish i'd applied decades ago... eace

Greenbeard said:

Just curious, given that each of these groups has a very distinct experience. I suppose the related question, which I can't also fit in here, is: are you happy with your coverage?

Click to expand...

Other: Left the country, have single-payer. :mrgreen:

I get it through my job. I recently switched to an HMO plan which I'm much happier with than the CDHP plan I had before.

Greenbeard said:

Just curious, given that each of these groups has a very distinct experience. I suppose the related question, which I can't also fit in here, is: are you happy with your coverage?

Click to expand...

Other.I have V.A. healthcare.

I'm service related disabled, so I get standard Tri-Care for life (so much for our free healthcare if we serve until retirement) and, unfortunately, the VA.

mine is linked to my job. job has gotten better, so the coverage has also improved since my previous job. i don't support that healthcare distribution system.

Greenbeard said:

Just curious, given that each of these groups has a very distinct experience. I suppose the related question, which I can't also fit in here, is: are you happy with your coverage?

Click to expand...

Only coverage I have is for my kids. Me and my wife do not have any. Obamacare didn't do crap for me except fine me simply because I can't afford insurance.

Small sample size so far but interesting how this compares with the national stats:


Which is to say, the numbers are very much in-line (if we roll together the various public insurance categories--Medicare, Medicaid, VA, other single-payer, etc). Part of the reason I was curious is that virtually all national attention these days focuses on the single digit percentage of Americans buying coverage on their own (e.g., through an exchange), which remains a very atypical situation in the U.S.

Anyway, to answer the question myself, I'm in an employer-based plan. The provider network itself is tiered (that is, the co-pays vary based on the provider chosen, so as to encourage the use of some providers over others), though in a somewhat unusual way. And like most people in employer-based coverage, the plan I'm in is self-insured, meaning the employer sets aside the money to pay medical claims and bears the risk for employees' medical expenses (i.e., the employer acts as the insurer, with the actual health insurer just providing administrative services for a fee).

A single-payer healthcare system. I am happy with my coverage, though slightly less so while I am out-of-province.

Employer. I have a HDLP plan with an attached HSA, so I'm fairly good with it. Dental is coming up this year and it's expensive - clearly people only hop in to get services done and then hop out.

I get my insurance through my workplace and I'm not at all happy with my coverage. It's embarrassing to have mediocre insurance when you work at an insurance company.