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Ask HN: What did you do for health/dental insurance when just starting out?

1 points by bunkat ↗ HN
Currently trying to navigate my way through getting health/dental insurance for my small two person start-up and I'm wondering how other people have done it. Anybody have any experience/tips/tricks for getting reasonable prices? Currently it looks like it is going to be close to $700 a month for a $2500 deductible, 20% co-pay and I'm not sure if that is what I should be expecting. Thanks!

7 comments

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swohns
What state are you in?
bunkat
Washington State
swohns
Lived in WA a long time, and I've found a Group Health plan for less than $100 a month (might have gone up in recent years). ehealthinsurance.com is a great research tool.
phasevar
I went with Humana and pay $180 a month for a $2500 deductible. One person, non-smoker, in good health, in my 30's, single. If you have a family to insure, good luck.
bunkat
So my options are to try and get onto a small business plan with 2 employees (myself and my wife) or to just get an individual plan for myself that also covers her. I had been told getting into a group plan would be cheaper, but maybe I should look into just going down the individual route...
gee_totes
Re: dental insurance... if your employees have decent teeth, it maybe be worth it (and a lot cheaper) to work out a deal with a dentist and pay for their checkups. I know that getting a tooth cleaning in NYC is like $80 cash (and I don't have insurance). Same goes for a doctor.

It all depends on how the employees' (and you) feel about preventative care vs. catastrophic care.