your insurance costs

Trauma Columnist · Jul 30, 2006

Good questions:

I currently work as a CNS and pay NO medical insurance for myself - woo hoo!

However, when I was a staff nurse (up until JUly 9th), I paid $86.00 a pay period for myself and my husband for medical and dental insurance.

As to covering an on-the-job exposure, the hospitals/facilities where I have worked always offer immunizations (hep B, flu, pneumovac) and then you see occ health if you are injured or have an on-the-job exposure.

I have always felt this is ethical.

TazziRN, RN · Jul 30, 2006

I pay nothing for myself, but pay $180 per two weeks for family coverage. That includes medical, dental, and vision. As for the risk of taking something home to the family, that's a risk we take to do what we do.

rjflyn, ASN, RN · Jul 30, 2006

I just signed up for benefits for me and my wife. The health insurance is about $80 a pay period.

Ok now for my biggest pet peeve, personally as a heathcare professional me and my family should have the best insurance available and at no cost. I should not have to pay any copays for anything. Sadly the facility i'm at now rates about a C- as compared to what I have had in the last 18 yrs.

Rj

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Jul 30, 2006

$25 pay period for myself, and it includes accupuncture, massages, herbal, and infertility!

Burnt Out, ASN, RN · Jul 30, 2006

I pay the full premium by half every pay period because I am casual pool and it is for family coverage: health and vision. Right now I only pay for DH and I to have dental-I will add DD when she gets a little older.

catlady, BSN, RN · Jul 30, 2006

Just want to know. Do YOU as the the staff RN pay for your medical insurance at the hospital where you work? Do you pay something?? or Nothing??? Is it for yourself or your family???
Do YOU THINK you as the RN should have to pay for your own medical insurance especially if your hospital restricts or penalizes you by making you pay a penalty if you use services away from your hospital?? Is that ethical???
Is it ethical/moral to ask the primary RN at the bedside who takes care of all types of patients to pay for her/his insurance? AND WHAT IF you contract, for example, TB, and then it goes home with you to your family??? Should you have to pay for family insurance???

Are we superior to our patients who also pay for their insurance? Who also have to choose between network and non-network providers? What does it have to do with ethics or morality? Are you expecting some sort of "professional courtesy?" Do lawyers get free legal services, grocers free food, and bankers free money?

The reality is that if the hospital "pays" for your insurance, you can rest assured that they'll get the money back some other way--most likely in the form of a lower salary.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jul 30, 2006

I was a health insurance broker for many years. The average health insurance policy for a family thru an employer is over 10k per year now. Most employees don't know this because the employer is paying for most of it. You just see your amount coming out of your check and your deductibles and copays.

I'm not cold and uncaring. I just recognize that one must have a *small* adverse loss or monitary contribution such as a copay, because otherwise we would fill every prescription even if we didn't need it and go for treatments without reasonable second thought.

All this said...healthcare expenditures in the US are not sustainable. We need to wise up in the US and understand why we are sicker here and spend far more compared to citizens in other industrialized countries such as the UK, Canada and Europe.

As far as on the job exposures, isn't this normally evaluated by occupational health and covered by worker's comp? I know this issue has potential to be a real hassle.

lee1 · Jul 30, 2006

Good questions:
I currently work as a CNS and pay NO medical insurance for myself - woo hoo!
However, when I was a staff nurse (up until JUly 9th), I paid $86.00 a pay period for myself and my husband for medical and dental insurance.
As to covering an on-the-job exposure, the hospitals/facilities where I have worked always offer immunizations (hep B, flu, pneumovac) and then you see occ health if you are injured or have an on-the-job exposure.
I have always felt this is ethical.

Yes, the hospital offers immunizations, however, frontline staff RNs cannot refuse to take care of patients that they are assigned to unless they fall into some rare categories------no immunity------for example--- no titers built up.

PPDs are insisted upon and you can be penalized for non compliance. However, how many times have you worked and then found out later that so and so patient's cultures are positive----can take up to 3-4 days after admission---and then the patient is moved, respiratory isolation put into effect. I have found that to be true especially in the ICU enviornment where patients admitted are much sicker---secretions more abundant. We always use universal precautions but as you know sometimes that is not enough.

The big problem seems to be at the present, penalties up to $1000 for having procedures done at other hospitals other than this one, also if your family is out of the area, penalties for routine care----including your college age child. Also waiting up to 4-6 months to even get an appointment, limited choice of doctors to choose from, etc.

LydiaNN · Jul 30, 2006

My medical, dental and vision are free for me. I pay $75 a month for ds and dh. I could have 10 dependents and still pay that same $75, though. We do have co-pays, but compared to what lots of others pay, they seem pretty reasonable.

Trauma Columnist · Jul 30, 2006

TB is extremely hard to contract unless you live in the same household. I worked at the active TB clinic for two years in Korea and never sero-converted. I also worked with Alaskan Natives and again in close quarters where many have active TB and again didn't convert. TB is HARD to catch.

More concerning is the community-acquired staph infections which you or your family can get anywhere!

lee1 · Jul 31, 2006

TB is extremely hard to contract unless you live in the same household. I worked at the active TB clinic for two years in Korea and never sero-converted. I also worked with Alaskan Natives and again in close quarters where many have active TB and again didn't convert. TB is HARD to catch.
More concerning is the community-acquired staph infections which you or your family can get anywhere!

that is reasurring to know but let me tell you it still makes the frontline ICU nurses crazy.

So, what was the opinion about nurses-------should they NOT have to pay anything or should they have to pay something??? I for one do not believe it is ethical unless you are going to tell me I can pick and chose what patients I want to take care of and then you are not guarenteed either.