Noogler, with family of one toddler, deciding what plan will be best for following health care need: - kid (2 yrs) visit doctor a few times a year for flu shot + vaccination - some dental treatments for me and spouse, like filling and cleaning. Some year there might need root canal treatment (with crown), that costs ~3k - basic eye check + contact lens. Sometime glass frames + lens cost (not every year) - blood cholesterol and sugar test for myself (once a year) - Not expected, but can happen, consultant visit + lab test. Consultant fee typically in $250-$350 range. Lab test cost unpredictable.
That being said, if you are young and have no preexisting conditions, you can probably pick the cheapest plan. Usually the cheaper the plan the higher the deductible you owe until insurance kicks in. Personally I’ve gone with PPO because I like being able to pick which doctor and not be restricted to a network
Ppo is within network. You can go to any doctor but have higher copays. Ghip is the same but the copay is always higher - in network or out of network. Unless you have serious health issues, ghip is always a better choice as the years you use it youll spend slightly more but largely recoup it in the years you dont.
We have no major health issue. And you know, no one can’t predict ER visit. That being said out of pocket max for PPO and gHIP almost same (EPO has much lower).
If you live in south bay and are ok with sticking to stanford docs, ghip select is the best deal. You literally can't end up spending money on health (max out of pocket is how much google gives you in hsa)
I’ve just moved to Sunnyvale. How about the doctor appoint schedule at Stanford? Isn’t it very limited, even for regular health issues? I heard somewhere waiting time at Stanford center is always too long, but no clear idea of course. Thanks for the input!
I don't live in sunnyvale so I'm not sure how many doctors are there, but I've had no problem getting doctors by calling the Stanford health concierge. There are a lot of local doctors not in stanford hospitals also under the stanford network so depending on the location you should be able to see someone reasonably quickly. I'd try talking to the stanford concierge to see your options. Emergencies are also always covered even out of network, so you shouldn't worry about ER.
GHIP and put some money on LPFSA for dental care. We also have an awesome Visio plan that covers glasses and contacts lenses.
Could you explain why LPFSA is needed, if there is HSA balance available? Can’t that be used towards dental or vision?
HSA is an excellent way to save for retirement. I don't touch the money there and just pay medical bills using LPFSA and after-tax money.
I remember Google pay you about two k if you choose ghip?
That is correct. Google pays $2000 towards HSA (for employee+family). The max out of pocket with ghip is $5200 (worst case you will pay $5200-$2000=$2200). With ppo, max out of pocket is $5000 which is to be paid by you (no HSA cover or other payment by Google here). I am not sure in what cases ppo even make sense. I could not find any scenario where it does (except if there is a specialized doctor needed who is not on the network provider list - super odd if that happens)
Ghip is no-brainer, unless you have any serious precondition that needs treatment (not your case). I put 1000 to LPFSA, I know I spend at least 500 on dental/vision from there. 500 can be carried over to next year. I max-out HSA, use it for any copays - gains me extra savings, since those funds are tax-free.
One invisible downside of gHIP and similar HPDP plans is it encourages you to not go to the doctors and thus saving money for your employer’s bottom line. You have skin in the game with HPDP unlike PPO. It helps the company since recently they invoked the Cadillac law which will slap a fine on employers who don’t lower per employee healthcare cost. https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/high-deductible-health-plans-pros-and-cons/ https://taxfoundation.org/cadillac-tax-employer-sponsored-health-insurance/
How much do you pay for in-network specialists?
How much do you pay for PPO per pay check for family of 4 ? Guessing around 250 ? And what is the deductible you have to meet before insurance kicks in ? I understand out of packet max is 5k for ppo but what about deductible please ?
Generally ppo is more expensive but people that pick ppo like being able to go to any doctor if needed
Any doctor or any in network doctor? If the latter then how can be it better than ghip?
Any doctor