"RCE" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...


On an individual basis, your last paragraph is certainly true for me. My
COBRA advantage will end soon, and my premiums will jump from $340-ish to
$650 per month. My employer will cover the expense because it's cheaper
for them to do that than to put me on their plan (for various complicated
reasons not important here). But still, it's crazy, to anyone with a
penchant for budgets. I live in a relatively cheap place, in terms of
doctor's office visits. My internest charges $60. I see a specialist
twice a year, who charges under $100. Sure, I could get very sick, I
could be in a car accident. But....cripes...I have a quarter mil of life
insurance that costs a fraction of these rates. It's all just math.

Obviously, the results of my analysis indicated that the bulk of regular,
non-catastrophic doctor visit costs were by those employees with infants
and small kids. They tend to visit the doctor regularly for check-ups and
all the normal kid ailments. Even still, it would have been cheaper for
the company to pay 100 percent for a Major Medical family plan and then
pay for the regular doctor visits than to pay 75 percent (employees paid
the other 25 percent) of the monthly premiums for a HMO family plan.

Eisboch


Exactly. I wonder why the HMO thing goes unquestioned in some companies.
Hell - self insure for some of these costs. Stick the money in a series of
rolling CDs or high rated bonds.

I don't recall where I recently read this, but Starbucks' biggest vendor
(from whom it purchases goods or services) is not a coffee bean supplier.
It's Blue Cross/Blue Shield.