I do, through my employer. I think I pay $10/week for me + wife + 3 children. But there are agonizingly complex details, e.g.:
- some medicines are virtually free, some are $100/3 months
- copays at doctors
- annual family deductible
- in-network vs. out-of-network
- the annual ritual of choosing from among the 4 or 5 plans my employer offers and then trying to decide which is optimal.
You'd be paying significantly more than $10 week if you didn't work for a Fortune 500 company.
The health insurance we offer employees is $491.56 monthly per single employee (single w/child rates are 1.75 x the base ,employee w/spouse is 2x, employee w/family is 2.85x). The company pays 75%, employees pay 25% (so a single employee pays $123 monthly, single w/child $215, married $246, family $350).
Typical fees, costs:
Annual deductible: $0
Maximum annual out of pocket expense (for copays, ambulances, other fees) is $2K for an individual and $4K for a family.
Prescription drugs: generic $10, preferred brand drugs $30, other drugs/specialty drugs $60
Doctors office visit $15 copay /$35 if it's a specialist
Emergency Room Services $100
Inpatient Hospital Services, Maternity Care $500 copay per stay
the full schedule of fees/copays is on pages 99-112 of
this pamphlet
The plan covers:
Outpatient Services
Preventive and Wellness Services and Chronic Disease Management
Emergency Services
Hospitalization
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Prescription Drugs
Rehabilitative and Habilitative Services and Devices
Laboratory Outpatient and Professional Services
Other Services (chemotherapy, family planning for women, transplants, autism treatment, etc)
Pediatric Dental Care
Pediatric Vision
I think there's a misunderstanding that some US citizens don't have health insurance. This is not the case
Actually it is the case. You're correct there are zillions of programs for the poor, prisoners, senior citizens, etc but there really isn't any affordable insurance options available for the groups that traditionally make up the uninsured: i.e. "the working poor" whose employers don't offer insurance and can't afford to self-insure but make just enough that they're not eligible for any government help , employees and owners of many small mom and pop businesses who can't afford existing insurance. Obamacare really does little to nothing to help many of these uninsured people afford insurance.