Health Insurance...?

I have Epilepsy, osteoarthritis and I am an insulin dependent diabetic. Thankfully i qualify for medical care through the VA.

 

My company has decent insurance for nowadays. Company pays 100% of driver premiums. There is a $5000 deductible with many things covered prior to reaching deductible (preventive type stuff). They also will reimburse to employee any costs after hitting $3000 of the deductible so in effect it is a $3000 deductible.

 

Anyone care to break down their insurance costs and coverages for a Canadian spectator?

Canadians aren’t required to purchase insurance for things like ER visits, hospital stays, surgeries, family doctor checkups or specialists. As a resident of a particular province or territory, we are provided a health card and the provincial (state) government pays the premiums to a single insurer for hospitals and clinics. The federal government foots most of the bill by funding the provinces, which everyone’s income tax pays for. Similar to roads and infrastructure funding, ultimately the provinces shoulder the burden of allocating the money but most of revenues come from the federal government.

In lieu of “insurance”, most employers are required to offer full time employees some form of benefits. These vary from 100% employee paid to 100% employer paid and cover a wide array of non-hospital services.

Some residents qualify for pharmacare, but most Canadians have to pay for medications themselves, depending on the province.

My benefits are currently 100% employer paid. My company offers around a $2000/year credit for benefits, and mine cost around $1500/year. The extra $500 is put in a health care spending account that I can spend on non covered portions or services. There are no deductibles for any of the coverages listed below.

In a nutshell, my coverage level means I pay 20% of the cost of drugs up front. Since I don’t take any prescriptions, it seemed banal to opt for 100% coverage.

I pay 20% of the cost of fillings and crowns, get 2 paid cleanings a year and I pay 50% of major dental work. I opted out of orthodontal care because my teeth are excellent.

I get a paid for eye exam every year, plus 80% reimbursement for lenses or glasses, up to around $1500 per year.

There’s a variety of homeopath/osteopath/masseuse/chiropractor credits, up to $500 or something that I have never used.

LTD (6-17weeks+) and STD (up to 6 weeks) are covered as a top up to the provincial and federal plans already in place. I can essentially take disability leave at 100% of my salary for so many weeks, whereas the government plans are more like 55-75%.

There is also a top up for maternal/parental leave, to be added to the government’s benefits through Employment Insurance for 12-18 months.

Can anybody gander a guess at what comparable coverage might cost in the USA?