Originally Posted by
Splanky
Horizon- employee is covered at no cost to employee with medical/dental/vision (though not good vision coverage). Also have life insurance equal to 1 year pay at no cost.
About $300/month to cover my wife and son with medical/dental/vision.
One thing I have liked with Horizontal is that Alaska Air Group is self-insured. They pay Blue Cross to manage air group money for health costs. Kind of nice as since it isn't Blue Cross's money and they don't fight over coverage.
This is not necessarily a "good" thing. Being self-insured works for large companies, until large claims hit. Cancer, premies (baby), and chronic illness can terrorize a company and expenses go through the roof. Co-pays, Rx costs, and premiums rise quickly once this happens.
The self-insured vs. plan debate is much like car insurance (I gave this analogy on the company board).
$150/mo for all required coverage and a low deductible (lets say $250)
$75/mo for all required coverage and a high deductible (lets say $1500)
-The $75 plan sounds great until the kids start driving and have numerous wrecks.
Cancer and premies (just a couple of each) can cost as much as the total healthcare budget for the rest of the "healthy" group. The airlines, as usual, try to win by betting on uncalculateable risk.