[slimsag]

(you didn't say this, but) nobody here should fool themselves into thinking a $3k deductible insurance is equal between an Amazon warehouse employee and a SWE at Microsoft.

$3k for a Microsoft SWE is a "dang, I wish I didn't have to go to the hospital" situation.

$3k for an Amazon warehouse employee earning $15/hr can often be a "there go my savings, I wonder if I got this injury due to the amount of physical activity my job requires" situation.

[filoleg]

I see your point, but to be fair, it is 10% after the first $1.5k. And it is already a much better insurance than most people working in offices I know get.

Essentially, what it means is that if an employee spends less than $1.5k/yr on medical expenses, they don't gain much benefit. If they spend over $1.5k, they essentially only spend 10% after that on all of their medical expenses. And once they hit a hard cap at $3k, they spend nothing at all. 90% off for most medical stuff is a great rate.

Not even mentioning the fact that this kind of an insurance is a godsend to people with major health problems, given that in the worst possible scenario, they would only ever spend $3k of their own money in a calendar year on medical stuff. And that's only if their actual pre-insurance-cost expenses are closer to the $16.5k, because $1.5k + $1.5k/0.1 = $16.5k.

And I am yet to see a better insurance out of any employers (not just warehouse employers). Even the "amazing" student insurance I had back in college (which I had to pay the premium for) was much worse than this.

[boring_twenties]

> Essentially, what it means is that if an employee spends less than $1.5k/yr on medical expenses, they don't gain much benefit.

Nitpicking here, but they probably do, because the insurance-negotiated prices for many services are much better than the prices prices you could negotiate yourself -- and that is assuming you even have the skills and energy to do any negotiating.

I have a high-deductible plan, which on paper covers literally nothing until I hit something over $7k/yr in expenses, which I thankfully never have. However, I usually pay 30-60% less than the uninsured cash price for my appointments and procedures just because I'm on the plan in the first place.

I often (not always) check this with the provider, so it's not like I'm just blindly assuming the discount claimed by the insurance company is accurate. It's usually not, but the discount still seems to be substantial.

In exactly one case I ended up saving like 50 bucks per dermatologist appointment by paying them directly.

[AviationAtom]

HDHPs are the reason for HSAs becoming a thing. I don't think most realize that the Amazon health plan mentioned is a pretty good deal. Most people only look at wage, failing to take into account what benefits are worth. In the US health benefits can account for a huge portion of overall compensation.

[DougN7]

It’s not all equal, but I’m looking at my $7K deductible with a $1.2K/month premium (ACA Marketplace plan) and I’m thinking that plan looks like gold.

[boring_twenties]

Jesus, I hope that's at least for a family of 4 or something?

I'm 38 and also have a $7k+ deductible (my plan is HDHP), costs me $275/mo.

[DougN7]

It’s for two people over 50 with no aid from the gov’t for the premium (which means we’re in good shape financially). The “Affordable” in the ACA is not for everyone.

[bzbarsky]

ACA plan costs go up pretty steeply with age, from what I've seen.

[keypusher]

You may want to look at your options on the ACA marketplace again. The recent stimulus bill included significantly more subsidies for ACA plans and enrollment is reopened for the next few months.

[dlp211]

They also left out the point where Microsoft gives you $1250/$2500 in your HSA to help alleviate those deductible costs (if you choose to).

[lotsofpulp]

The benefit is the same, and it's far more lavish than any other $15 job offers. Employers paying for 100% of the health insurance premiums are rare.

[astrange]

Microsoft's healthcare plan used to pay 100% of premiums, but over time it either became unaffordable or didn't work with the ACA.

Currently it's something like "we charge you a lot for the first few months but also give you the money to pay it in your HSA", which makes you wonder why they give it to you in the first place. It's not like you can optimize your prescriptions out of your life, so it's not enabling choice.

[Consultant32452]

I don't have any prescriptions or chronic health issues. My HSA is another several thousand dollars per year of tax free retirement savings (I max out 401k contributions also). Sure, I can only ever use that $ on healthcare, but when I'm older I'm sure I'll use it.

[astrange]

Sure, but that doesn't explain why employers contribute extra to the HSA instead of having salary deductions.

Btw, once you're 65 you can withdraw money for no reason without a penalty, so it's no worse than a traditional IRA. Too bad deposits are taxed in California.

[ThrowawayR2]

That's still a remarkably good health plan being offered unless somehow people are expecting Amazon and other corporations to offer their warehouse workers a better health plan than they or Microsoft offer their own engineering staff. Even a union isn't going to get them that.