Quote:
Originally Posted by Clodfobble
I think that average cost is the quote for an individual trying to purchase insurance on their own. Group coverage through an employer (like I'm assuming you have, classic, but correct me if your plan is something different) is inherently cheaper than an individual plan, because your employer is negotiating a group rate. Plus, group coverage isn't allowed to charge one person more just because they have pre-existing conditions or are genetically at risk for disease. The rates for individual plans are sky-high, if they are willing to offer them at all--my best friend shopped around extensively to get the best rate she could, which is $1,000 a month (i.e., the 12K/year average that Redux quoted,) for their "family," which is to say everyone except the daughter with diabetes. No insurance company will cover her.
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The cost of a family plan on the open market would absolutely be higher than the average cost of employer-base plan (cited above) for the reasons you noted.
The only "advantage" of an open market, non-employer based plan is the ability to pick and choose from more levels of coverage with more/less benefits at various prices...but then you lose the significant employer contribution.
And in any case, more and more employers are limiting those choices and lowering benefits or raising the employee share.