Hello EY family, Recently moved to EY and I’m in the process of selecting the medical insurance provider/plan.
Wife and I are planning to have a baby in the next year or so. Which insurance plan gives the max benefits? I see EY has got multiple options - Kaiser , Anthem , United etc. Any pointers would be appreciated.. thanks in advance.EY
There’s a tool - I think it’s called Alex or something that lets you input your family size, and some other variables, and then compares the plans for you. I would use that to find the right plan. It’s on better you site.
In terms of the provider, all the plans are the same for all intensive purposes, so pick the provider that your doctors take. In some areas some are more prevalent than others.
“All intensive purposes” is an eggcorn for “all intents and purposes”
I suggest you look at the high deductible plan. Upfront it may be more cash, however it is the most flexible plan because they do not have a separate out of pocket limit for in/out of network medical providers.
Additionally, the same plan is available on both Anthem BCBS and UHC. Your preferred doctor might be in network for one of these - which means that you will get more discounts if they are.
You can also top up your HSA for tax free money that can be rolled over year on year.
Other plans don’t allow you to use an HSA and have separate out of pocket limits for in and out of network
Unsure about Kaiser
Another thing is that the high deductible plan has the SAME coverage vs co-insurance % between in-network and out of network providers (eg 70/30). That said, in-network providers may provide a lower overall cost compared to out of network providers.
I have some out of network providers that waived off my co-insurance portion so ended up being the same or cheaper than in-network
Suggest using the online tool - it guides you through all these questions like planned surgery, pregnancy etc and the. Shows you which plan will net out cheapest. Pretty accurate
You can preview in network providers/facilities in advance if you have a couple you prefer already.
Given there are 4 months left in this calendar year, it depends, but I also recommend the high deductible plan for this year while also maxing our your HSA, and then for next year choosing a mid tier plan (the one w/ the $1000 deductible, I believe) or higher (aka lowest deductible but highest monthly premium) if needed esp once your wife starts to have multiple prenatal visits and once you’re expecting her to actually deliver. That way you kinda get the best of both worlds.
Also I hope you’re aware that paid parent leave is only covered/allowed a year after you start.
It’s in January and benefits selections are usually in November
I used the lower deductible plan 90/10 - it costs more but it works out in the end. At least for me. Especially if you have any significant expenses with a newborn. You never know what may happen. If all is well then you can drop to the 80/20 plan later down the road.
This is solely for Kaiser.
At EY we only have 1 standard plan for Kaiser which is you cover upto 4k out of pocket.
Any checkups as part of the pregnancy cost 0 or max 10 bucks out of pocket. Any tests you request in addition to the scheduled cost extra- few hundred bucks.
And C section costs at Kaiser cost me 40k of which 36k was covered and I still had to pay 4k which I am doing in installments.
@ey5, can you confirm that ey offers Kaiser? Also curious if you’re in northern CA
I had bad experiences with Anthem. Switched to UHC and very happy. Some of your choice depends on where you live and what your docs take. But, UHC, in my opinion has much better web site and app. And, much better customer service. Also pay out much faster with fewer hassles. Ameriben administrator on top of Anthem is horrible! Took me over 6 months to get first payment on a certain provider.
UHC high deductible has been good for me 2 kids). Worst case scenario is you pay a couple hundred more than a lower deductible plan, if you truly max out everything(not factoring in HSA). But if you don't max out, you can save thousands on the high deductible plan. I would hate to have the low deductible plan and end up not using it if things don't work out
The benefits are the same. You’re selecting a network / access to doctor and hospital