$721 a Month!

[Mandelon]

The latest Blue Cross statement has arrived. One of my employees has a wife and three young children. The Blue Cross HMO plan that his family is on will now cost $721 a month.
This is not for some super fancy plan, Just a regular family plan with like $15 per visit copay, $250 deductible for prescriptions, etc.
$721.00!!!! How crazy is that? That used to be a house payment........or two car payments.
Its wrong. :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
I'm gonna start shopping around again, or go get a government job somewhere that has all those nice benefits......:rolleyes:
On a bright note, his wife recently was hired at a local Indian Casino and will they be providing the same insurance for his family at a cost to him of only $80.00 a month.....
Still crazy though.

[riverbound]

He should go on strike like the grocery workers.

[framer1]

Cheapest general liability I could find for framing business is 88 thousand minimun for year and I can't frame tracts anymore. Tell me that's not a sweet deal:mad: Put my brother-inlaw out of business he was a concrete contractor for 20 years. Hate to preach dume but building is in for a fall. imho

[Desert Rat]

Originally posted by Mandelon
The latest Blue Cross statement has arrived. One of my employees has a wife and three young children. The Blue Cross HMO plan that his family is on will now cost $721 a month.
This is not for some super fancy plan, Just a regular family plan with like $15 per visit copay, $250 deductible for prescriptions, etc.
$721.00!!!! How crazy is that? That used to be a house payment........or two car payments.
Its wrong. :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
I'm gonna start shopping around again, or go get a government job somewhere that has all those nice benefits......:rolleyes:
On a bright note, his wife recently was hired at a local Indian Casino and will they be providing the same insurance for his family at a cost to him of only $80.00 a month.....
Still crazy though.
I have a Government job and we use my wife's plan thru Costco...WAYYYY better with dental and eye care neither of which are offered without a HUGH increase at my job of course it still wouldn't be $721. I guess somebody (spelled us) have to pay for the illegals

[coolchange]

The company I was workin for fired almost everyone in Oct. Comp went from 9 to 34k. 90 employees down to 20. Everything is subed now.

[Mandelon]

I don't know if that includes dental and eyecare....
Our general liability went from $6900 two years a go to $31,000 last year......Never have had a claim.
Next renewal we will drop HOA coverage and it should go back down into the $20's....
Folks wonder why it costs so much to build stuff now.........:rolleyes:

[OutCole'd]

Every friggen year we have to shop our insurance around and switch company's. The cost goes up at least 25% each year. Something has to change with it.

[Rock-it man]

Originally posted by framer1
Cheapest general liability I could find for framing business is 88 thousand minimun for year and I can't frame tracts anymore. Tell me that's not a sweet deal:mad: Put my brother-inlaw out of business he was a concrete contractor for 20 years. Hate to preach dume but building is in for a fall. imho
WOW !!!! And I thought it was high up here in Oregon.I have to sub everthing cause I cant afford employees. Did 30+ homes in the last three years and cntractors Ins is out of hand !!!
Try $ 125,000.00 for the basic policy and thats not Wk CMP just liaibility.
I NEED FRAMERS !!!! come to OREGON !!!

[summerlove]

Originally posted by Mandelon
The latest Blue Cross statement has arrived. One of my employees has a wife and three young children. The Blue Cross HMO plan that his family is on will now cost $721 a month.
I'm gonna start shopping around again, or go get a government job somewhere that has all those nice benefits......:rolleyes:
I have a govt job and I wish my medical rates were that low for my wife +2 dependents! I am covered by my wife's company and the private sector wins again!!!

[DickDanger]

Sucks to live in SoCal.....-DD Out

[Tremor Therapy]

The company I work for has about 125 full time employees, and the boss had to write a check for over 1 mil for insurance! 1 mil! With the way the economy is still going, we are not receiving enough orders to support that kind of insurance.
Hope I still have a job by the end of the year! :mad:

[Dave C]

FYI you guys are not alone.
My 100 or so clients all complain about the same thing. W/C premiums are through the roof. so are health insurance premiums and some liability.
You guys don't have to buy it but E&O insurance doubled for some people including us.....:eek:

[HCS]

I hate insurance all together. I've paid Allstate over $1000.00
in insurance payments in one month. For cars, boat, and house.
Then I got the wife & kids med insurance. It's the biggest
expence in my household besides my house payment.
:mad:

[HammerDown]

Currently I'm paying $394.00 a month. Just for me. Personal Choice .But that is for everything. Cobra fund with the Teamsters.

[Lightning]

If any of you guys need help with a health plan for your group, let me know. Blue Cross just had a rate hike across the board averaging 10% for all groups in CA.
However, they have introduced new plans that are more affordable and may make sense for some people. Yes, more affordable means that the plans are not as "rich". I can get you quotes for all companies; BlueCross, Community Health Group, HealthNet, Aetna, PacificCare, Sharp, etc....

[Rev. Williams]

If any of you guys are really wanting to shop rates I'd suggest contacting my sister. She's been in the corp. insurance field for 15+ years. I won't promise anything more then good service, but it's worth a call to her if you need to shop.
PM if you want the number.

[jbtrailerjim]

I have about 25 employee's and in 2 years our workmans comp. has went from $32,000 to $87,000 this year. Our garage keeper's ins. went up another $10,000 this year now to $42,000 and we've never had a claim in 11 years. This f**kin state is killing us.:mad:

[ROZ]

We have insurance throught my wife's job, UCSD Medical Center. We have UC care PPO and pay 400.00 per month for 2 adults and 1 child. Our copayments are 20.00 for doctor and pharmacy visits. Doulbes at the pharmacy when we don't get generic drugs...
Dental is throuh my job... It's an additional 60 per month plus the copays, but I have the brodealio hookup with the dentist. Glad he's an audiophile :cool:

[Ziggy]

Originally posted by jbtrailerjim
I have about 25 employee's and in 2 years our workmans comp. has went from $32,000 to $87,000 this year. Our garage keeper's ins. went up another $10,000 this year now to $42,000 and we've never had a claim in 11 years. This f**kin state is killing us.:mad:
I'm feeling the same pinch with my Insur. crap :mad: ---liability and Workers comp is out of hand totally.
Mandelon, I switched my peeps to Pacific Care from Blue Sheild this year and save a few bucks. Basically the same plans but Pacific Care is trying to buy into the market a little harder and take all those BlueCross, Blue Sheild deals....They are taking a chance because the other Blue insureds are in relatively good health so they figure a lower risk to steal clients than go get others that haven't had decent insurance.

[19cobaltcd]

I work for a well known worldwide company here in the middle of the country and the union that represents my pay grade just voted down a new contract because the insurance for family went from $30 to $150 a month. This is coverage for medical, dental, eyeglasses, the works. I was out their paying for my own and it seems like a bargain to me. I dont like it going up anymore than anyone else but that is todays reality. It seems the only people left after laying off 30,000 since 9/11 are ones that have been there for 20 years, they just dont realize what its like outside those walls.

[CA Stu]

Originally posted by Mandelon
The latest Blue Cross statement has arrived. One of my employees has a wife and three young children. The Blue Cross HMO plan that his family is on will now cost $721 a month.
.
I feel his/your pain.
I have the same exact family, me, mama, and 3 little ones. I'm self employed and have Blue Cross, I pay less than that.
The way I keep my rate in line is with the missus and kids on one policy, me on another. I exploded a knee snow skiing when I was younger, when you factor me in there it's a lot more per month because of the likelihood of needing more work on my knee.
Does he or his wife have a history of knee / back / heart problems?
Anything with a likelihood of needing recurring treatment (medical bills) jacks monthly rates to the moon.
So, to save $$$, I have a minimum coverage type policy, the rest of the family has a more comprehensive one.
Basically, anything short of life threatening, I get a 12 pack, a bandaid, and a bottle of aspirin :D
Thanks
CA Stu
PS I agree, Health insurance, workman's comp, it's all a bunch of way overpriced horseshit that has been foisted on us by bleeding hearts and fraud artists.

[DaveA]

I just went thru a workers comp audit. Hoo boy. Am I gonna get it. No claims. But that don't matter any more.
Shopping for new heath care coverage this month, too.
Where will it end? Garagekeepers and gen liability is coming up next.
Sweatsweatsweat...
I'm gonna fuggedaboudit tomorrow, and go to the AutoFair at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Carlisle/Hershey of the South) and look at other overpriced items for sale that I'd much rather have. :D :D

[Boozer]

I've never had to pay dull price for my insurance but i have had aetna pacificare and united.
United has been the best company to deal with that I have ever had. Through my company I pay $60 a month for everything dental medical vision the works. Whats united cost employers? My PPO with them rocks anytime i need to do something no refferal needed i just do it.

[bordsmnj]

we need to get rid of most of the trial lawyers in this state. my dad wont bid residential work(masonry) any more. the last three electrical companies i've worked for won't either. too much liability. a friend of the families just spent 16000 bucks defending him self in a law suit over a 4000 dollar block wall. His defense? his wall didn't make the roof leak! basically with new precidents if any one little thing goes wrong on a duplex or apartment the lawyers can go after EVERY sub that was on the job. you won't see very many apartments being built in our great state any more. medical costs will continue to rise as long as people can sue doctors for everylittle B.S. case. i'm not even gonna get into all the low life ,too lazy to work, mother f3456rs that are constantly fruading workmans comp. i'm pissed:yuk: time to go read somethin'

[Boozer]

Originally posted by bordsmnj
we need to get rid of most of the trial lawyers in this state. my dad wont bid residential work(masonry) any more. the last three electrical companies i've worked for won't either. too much liability. a friend of the families just spent 16000 bucks defending him self in a law suit over a 4000 dollar block wall. His defense? his wall didn't make the roof leak! basically with new precidents if any one little thing goes wrong on a duplex or apartment the lawyers can go after EVERY sub that was on the job. you won't see very many apartments being built in our great state any more. medical costs will continue to rise as long as people can sue doctors for everylittle B.S. case. i'm not even gonna get into all the low life ,too lazy to work, mother f3456rs that are constantly fruading workmans comp. i'm pissed:yuk: time to go read somethin'
Contractors can thank themselves for that.
Aparmtents are built like shit these days. I recently moved out of an apartment that was costing me $1500 a month. Out here thats a LOT of money for an apartment considering you can buy a 4 bed 2 bath home in a decent part of town for 200k. In the apartment i had the gas line to the water heater broke 2 times and both times im surprised didnt blow the place up. The Pea trap under the sink broke 3 times. And the main water line coming into the apartment busted twice causing the entire kitchen to flood both times.
Why? Because the builder built as cheaply as they could to maximize profits. Who cares about quality when your pockets get deeper by the unit?
The apartment management sued the contractors and everytime a judement was awarded the contractor would file bankruptcy go get another tax id and open up as a new company. Of course the apartment company replaced the broken shit with the same cheap shit that was in there int he first place but still. I say both parties are to blame.
I no longer live in an apartment. The house i live in now was built in 1972 and a lot of the original stuff from 72 is working better then the brand new stuff from 2000 in my old apartment.

[HCS]

You got that damn straight. The home I have was built in the
sixties. It's built like a rock. I have had to replace some old pipes,
paint, and clean the place up, but the walls are straight and eveything is made out of oak. High quality.

[Lakeshow]

SPAM -
I own a commerical insurance firm in Temecula and would be more than happy to take a look at any of the coverages that my fellow hot boaters have.
I specialize in construction as it represents 90% of my clientelle.
Straight answers and great personal service are my commitments. Oh, and beer in channel :D lol!
909-296-6800 or tony@cornerstonesurety.com
:D :D :D :D

[framer1]

Anybody who thinks houses were build better in the 60's and 70's are sadly mistaken. With the new codes the houses are at least 50% more stuctural than those old places. I put more hardware and shear panel on one house now than we used to put on a whole tract. All in all the new product is very well done. I'm not saying you can't have cheap appliances,windows,carpet ,plumbing fixtures etc. but the houses than self are better build.

[LakeRacer]

on individual policies with BlueCross. At least here in AZ we pay for our employees insurance but it's an individual policy. We found that a group policy was more expensive for the same coverage. The good thing is if the employee leaves he/she can take the insurance with them.