worried about cost of health care

If we move to the US and my employer says they have a health care plan, does that mean they would still deduct a wack of dough from my paychecks for this? I assume it would only cover me and not my husband and kids - would it be really expensive to have them covered? what does it depend on?

Depends on the insurance company and how much money your employer is willing to dish out for subsidised premiums.

I pay over $400 per month for health insurance for just me and my husband currently. Plus you still have to pay for doctor visits what they call a "co-pay". The amount of your co-pay will also depend on your insurance plan.

The best person to be asking these questions to is your HR manager or insurance plan manager at your employers. Every insurance company is different, every employer plan is different, and laws and regulations regarding insurance are different in each state. There's no way anyone here could even hazard a guess what you'd be covered for or how much it'll cost you, unless they worked for the same employer.

This is one of the big catches of moving to the US, because not only do you have to pay somehow for your healthcare (either yourself or via your employer) but your medicare contributions count for nothing, and not only that but if you remain resident in Canada for tax purposes (which legally you're supposed to on TN-1 and you basically have to if you're only there for a couple of years) then you pay the equivalent of Canadian income taxes AND the US healthcare costs. Which really sucks if you're from a Province where your healthcare is paid out of your income taxes and you don't pay a separate premium.

This is one of the big catches of moving to the US, because not only do you have to pay somehow for your healthcare (either yourself or via your employer) but your medicare contributions count for nothing, and not only that but if you remain resident in Canada for tax purposes (which legally you're supposed to on TN-1 and you basically have to if you're only there for a couple of years) then you pay the equivalent of Canadian income taxes AND the US healthcare costs. Which really sucks if you're from a Province where your healthcare is paid out of your income taxes and you don't pay a separate premium.

-------------

I think the US healthcare costs are clear and any US resident pays for them. Medicare not counting does hurt. The higher income taxes as well.

I know plenty of TN's who have been out for 2 years though ie in the US and are non residents of Canada for tax purposes. Unlike the tourist or business visits or even students actually, TN means that you are taking up TEMPORARY residence in the USA. For this temporary period, there is not a need to maintain ties. As i said, plenty of TN workers in this situation.

Depends where you live actually. Some states, and some counties within states are short on doctors, so there are waiting lists. And even with insurance, specialists can cost a small fortune. We ended up paying about $1700 for some cardiac tests for hubby last year.

There are a zillion types of insurance plans as well, and one has to pay close attention to what you actually get. My wife works for the federal Govt (in USA) and she came home with a book that must have been like 2 inches thick of the various plans available. I never had a problem in canada seeing a Dr, nor do my parents, guess it all depends where you live. And one can't always get into a Dr here in the USA either (DC area.) I'm a RN nursing student (39 days to go,lol) and there are plus/negatives of both systems. I know the hospitals here in the USA really push customer service, as they want your business, but they sure charge you fore everything,lol Ensure that you spend some time going over the various plans and companies.

Alberta supposedly has the best healthcare system in Canada, and it's totally hopeless compared to anywhere I've lived or needed treatment in the US. I'm extraordinarily lucky to have a family doctor here, a lot of people don't. However the problem is still the wait for an appointment, I had to go to the ER for an ear infection, because my GP couldn't fit me in for weeks and the local clinic was overloaded for days and I couldn't get in.

The kicker is of course the cost, I never had much in the way of insurance when I lived in the US, so I remember once I got taken to the ER and I got a bill that was loaded down with all sorts of things I hadn't had done, including a breast biopsy(!) If it had gone to the insurance company I wouldn't have seen it. It was clear to me when I complained to the hospital and how embarrassed they were that it was a common practice but people didn't notice.

It's amazing to me how many people get shipped down to Great Falls who are in critical condition, however since the new Provincial health board was formed they seem to have decided it's cheaper to just let people die.

I just got a bill from AHCIP saying my Blue Cross bill is going to increase by 100% from July 1st.

It's at times like this I'm glad I have serious health problems and it actually saves me money having Blue Cross. Not as much from July 1st though.

Glad to see you guys are keeping my thread going after a couple of months . Thanks for the info. Hubby and I live in Ontario but are moving to Florida next Fall. I will work for a school district (H1B) and will have coverage and will pay for the coverage for my husband (he'll be a contractor on a TN) and two kids - I think about 400$ a month but I know there are different plans and I havent gotten that far yet into the details. I'm nervous because I have somewhat high blood pressure that I take meds for it (not overweight though) and my husband is overweight and has a low red blood cell count of unexplained etiology - on a day to day basis, this does not affect our health per se but I am worried that the school district healthplan will refuse us coverage or something. I have visions of them only taking perfectly healthy individuals. I know here in Canada they turned my husband down for critical disability insurance when he applied and they gave him a physical, ect..

It is not likely that you'll be turned down for insurance due to pre-existing conditions, however, the insurance company will have the right to refuse to pay for any treatment related to such pre-existing condition, if they so desire. Which is a pain in the arse of course.

Recently in the news however, there's been grumblings that insurance companies will no longer be able to discriminate on pre-existing conditions, so who knows.

One major major difference between Canada and the US is the cost of prescription medications. They're slower to allow generics release here, so for a lot of common drugs you're stuck with the name brand, at a much higher cost. The past few months my husband's medications have been costing us over $300, and the insurance wouldn't cover them because "they felt there was no evidence of requirement" or some such.

Here in the US medical treatments are governed by the insurance companies, rather than doctors who know what they're doing. So regardless of how much insurance you have, it's always a good idea to have some money stuffed away to pay for whatever insurance won't cover. And if your insurance plan/company offers a Health Savings Account, do get it!