I'm 59 and recently wondered if it was possible for me to retire before age 65 so I looked up the health insurance premiums for the plans offered by my pension plans for pre-65 yrs old health insurance. We have an 18 yr old daughter.
The costs for a family ranged from $2318 -$1839 per month depending on the option you choose and the level of deductible in the plan. The cheapest plan has a $5000 deductible per person per year for instance. For just my wife and I the plans ranged from $1632-1314. Some of the plans only cover care in a limited geographical area, except for emergencies. The limit on coverage on all the plans is $2.5 million.
I'm currently paying $1413 thru my employer for a plan with what I consider very high co-pays. For instance, our co-pay is $600 per day for a hospital visit with a maximum ofr $1200 per visit. It's $35 to visit the doctor $200 for an ER and $60 for urgent care.
These numbers don't include any employer subsidy. They're the raw numbers for what the insurance plan costs.
I know I'm a frugal guy, but those figures seem outrageous to me. One month of health insurance is higher than the yearly property taxes on our home. So, I'm curious as to what others are paying and how you purchase it. Do you get your health insurance thru your employment? How much is it? If you don't get it thru your employment, how have you gone about purchasing it?

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13