Switching Jobs - Insurance - Help!

I'm in need of some advice. It all boils down to health insurance and I am so sorry this is so long!

I'm at my current job for 5 years - I've always liked it. I have a great boss and it's a fun environment. It has changed a lot over the last year and I'm not entirely happy with all of the changes. Aside from that, I'm extremely overworked and underpaid. Raises are not looking to be anytime soon because the company isn't doing as good as it was a few years ago. One great benefit is that the health insurance is good and cheap but that could change as well if business doesn't pick up.

My best friend told me a few weeks ago that her job is looking for someone. I figured what the hell and went on the interview. It went awesome. Went on the 2nd interview yesterday and met with all the partners and again, totally awesome. I asked for way more than I make now and they didn't balk at it. The president said he'd call me in a few days with an offer. I know this place is great as well because my friend absolutely loves it there and says it's an awesome environment. She has been there 2 years and has never had a bad word to say. Everyone I met there was so nice and I could see myself being happy there. The ONE bad part is the insurance. It's more expensive and not as good as what we have now. I'd still be taking home a lot more money than I do currently.

Going on my husband's insurance is not an option. Would you stick with the much lower pay and better insurance? Or would you move to a better opportunity that has worse insurance? We have no children and no major medical issues... But I'm still so weary about all of this! I'm curious as to what other people's opinions are. Thank you!!

Switching Jobs - Insurance - Help!

I wouldn't even blink. I would take the job and not look back!

Switching Jobs - Insurance - Help!

Better opportunity with worse insurance.

Switching Jobs - Insurance - Help!

New job - who knows, even though you have good insurance now at your current company - it can change during the next open enrollment (unless you may be in a union).

Switching Jobs - Insurance - Help!

I would take the new job.

Switching Jobs - Insurance - Help!

New job. Insurance at your current job can change, and if the company really isn't doing well your job may not even be safe there.

Switching Jobs - Insurance - Help!

Why is DH insurance not an option. It would be a qualified change.

Re: Switching Jobs - Insurance - Help!

My initial reaction is to take the job. But I'm curious about how you quantify "not as good" for insurance. What makes it worse, besides costing more in payroll deductions each much? Is it an hmo where you need to get referrals to see specialists? Is it a super high deductible plan? Does it severely limit the doctors you could see or hospitals you're covered by? Does it not include a vision plan? Some of those things may be deal breakers for you.

If you're healthy with no kids, payroll deductions aside, it may not really end up costing you much more in the long run since it sounds like you don't need medical services often. What would be more important to me would be to know I can still continue to see my same doctors I like and if you plan to have kids which hospitals you can go to (if you care about that sort of thing). Look at the annual out of pocket maximums, deductibles and network doctors and do some basic calculations on the annual medical costs you typically incur. You can probably contribute a bit more to a pretax medical FSA to help with extra out of pocket costs too.

Re: Switching Jobs - Insurance - Help!

We literally just went through this (my DH switched jobs).

Will the pay increase cover the entire increase in insurance costs? Will you be eligible for insurance at your new job immediately, or do you need to work there for a period of time before you are eligible? If yes, you need to take into account the cost of Cobra for the interim, and it is ridiculously expensive.

Also, I am not sure about the details of what is better about your current insurance (is it just cheaper? or is the coverage actually better?). If the latter, you need to factor in the additional out of pocket expenses that you will be incurring due to the inferior coverage. If the deductible/out of pocket are higher, is it something that you could swing if someone in your family did get sick or even just needed extensive tests (MRI, CAT scans, biopsies cost a ton)? DH's new job has a deductible that is almost double our old deductible.

For us, it still made sense for him to choose the new job, however, because the pay raise negated all the increases in health insurance, cobra costs and deductible differences. Also, he didn't feel there was enough job security and opportunities for advancement at his old job. Even if the health insurance costs cut largely into your raise, if you have the potential for larger raises and quicker advancement, it seems like the new job would be a good bet.

Re: Switching Jobs - Insurance - Help!

Switching Jobs - Insurance - Help!

I had a similar situation recently and declined the job, eventhough it was a big raise. The health insurance for me personally was good, but the family plan was awful. If I was single it would be a no brainer, but we've had a few ER visits and DD had a week long hospital stay last year, and those medical bills would have decimated us, if we had that shitttty coverage.

Re: Switching Jobs - Insurance - Help!

Re: Switching Jobs - Insurance - Help!

My husband's insurance isn't an option because he was hired at a specific salary BECAUSE he wouldn't need their insurance. I hadn't planned on leaving my job when he negotiated his salary 2+ years ago. He broached the subject with them last week when my talks with the new company became serious, and his company informed him that he would have a HUGE salary cut because of how he was hired at the specific rate. It would pretty much be a wash if I took the new job and he took the pay cut, so it's not worth it.

I say the new insurance is bad because that's what my friend told me. She's under her husband's so she doesn't have to worry about it. She said it's a high deductible plan and you're limited with your choice of physicians. My husband and I have a regular doctor we've seen once a year for checkups but never anything serious. However, that doctor is almost an hour east of us now because we bought a house further west last year...so it might be easier to find one closer to us anyway. I planned to find a new OBGYN out here anyway because when we do plan to have a family in the next year or two, I would obviously rather be closer to my OBGYN. My current one is again almost one hour east. The insurance we have now has all of our doctors and it's low cost & low deductible.

The salary I would get at the new job would definitely cover the new expensive insurance plus more. I'm just concerned about finding new doctors and any other costs we may incur during an emergency.

ETA: Thank you all so much for replying. I've never been in this situation before and I really appreciate the opinions!

Message edited 4/14/2016 6:39:43 PM.

Re: Switching Jobs - Insurance - Help!

If you are planning a family I would stick with the better insurance. Do you know how much the family plan is? They are usually very $$. Consider the cost of childbirth and hospitalization. Prenatal care. Especially if you plan multiple children. Young children and babies go to the pediatrician a lot.

Re: Switching Jobs - Insurance - Help!

I would ask them for the benefits and really look at it to see what your costs are. You are allowed to ask for them to look at them before accepting a job offer. That way you can compare the cost of deductibles, cost of child birth, etc. to the plan you have now. Not all High Deductible plans are terrible..... and sometimes the employer matches a certain amount go to go into an HSA for you.

Switching Jobs - Insurance - Help!

New job
New insurance
New Doctors

Easily.

I mean if you were offered more money to move out of state and take a new job you'd have new insurance and new doctors. Just think is like having that without leaving home. It's not like you can't find a new doctor. You said you have no kids now and no major health issues and looking for new docs anyway. Seems like a win win to me.

I've changed doctors tons. Some I've loved but hey, new insurance. Not my fault you don't take the insurance I'm with. Sometimes that can happen WITHOUT LEAVING the same job at all. You have no choice on who the employer buys insurance from.

Take the new job.

Re: Switching Jobs - Insurance - Help!

I think you need to see exactly what the Insurance plan is and not go just based on what your friend said.

I was in a similar situation a few months ago, and took the job with the higher salary and more expense insurance. The initial offer covered the difference that I was paying, but I was able to negotiate even more money in my salary which made the decision very easy for me.