What’s the point of double coverage for spouses/family?
I'm getting married this year, and we're trying to figure out what to do during open enrollment. From what I can tell, the lowest cost option but a lot is for both of us to stay on our respective employer plans. We're both government employees (one federal, one state). Looking over last year's plans, I would expect about 4x the premiums to add a spouse to my plan. I believe hers is similar. I've seen/heard about other couples who add both spouses to both plans for the "double coverage," but what is the actual benefit of double coverage? From what I've read they will bill your primary insurance first even if it's an out-of-network visit that would be in-network on the secondary plan. For reference, we do have different medical and dental networks, which sometimes overlap, but we also don't have any reason to want to see the same doctor. Our plans have pretty similar deductibles and copays and maximum out of pockets. The only specific exclusions on either of the plans are the standard procedures that seems to be excluded from every health and dental plan: orthotic shoe inserts, TMJ treatments, cosmetic surgeries; you know, the stuff everyone posts their rejected claims about in this sub.
I know back in the 1900s some employers actually paid like the whole insurance premium for the employee and their family, so I'm sure it was a no-brainer in those cases, but that doesn't seem to be a thing anymore? At least I've never seen it in an employer-sponsored plan.
Does anyone still have double coverage? Is it worth the extra premiums? What are some example cases where it actually pays off?
submitted by /u/BlatantDisregard42
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