I currently have HMO insurance with Kaiser through my employer and I think that my boss also pays half of my premuim each month. We also have the option to have another insurance which is PPO but since I'm older now Kaiser costs me less and so far I've liked my doctors. The new Kaiser is only about 5 minutes away from my home so it's very convenient too.

I still have to pay $30 for an office visit and generic medication is $10 or $15 I think and lab work is $10. One time I was waiting in the waiting room at Kaiser and I noticed that most people there had very low co-payments. One only had to pay $5, another one $10, another one $15, and another one $20. I felt like I was paying way too much at $30. I know that my former roommate worked for the government and she only had a $5 co-payment. Must be nice.

Even though I work for a dental lab, my employer doesn't provide us with dental insurance. We used to have it when I first worked there but then it got taken away. Now we have to provide our own or we can also go with an Aflac plan. I chose to go with my own which is Smilecare. I only have to pay $65 or $70 a year but I have to go to only Smilecare dentists. I still have to pay some towards my cleaning, x-rays, fillings, crowns, etc. but it's at a reduced rate so it's much more affordable.

I don't have a vision plan either. I just go to Costco every 2 years for a check up which doesn't cost me too much money. Luckily my vision hasn't changed too much. I bought several pairs of glasses online last year and they were so much more affordable than those even at Costco or other optical stores or offices. My dad had detached retina's in both of his eyes and this is an inherited disease so I have to be sure to have my eyes dilated every 2 years to make sure that everything is okay.

Both of my parents are on the Kaiser senior medical plan and they really like it. Some of their premiums are still being paid my dad's former employer. I think that their co-payments have gone up though. For some reason they found that their lab work co-payments are less if they go to a Kaiser in Southern CA than in Northern CA. If they didn't have medical insurance, my mom wouldn't be alive today. She's a breast cancer survivor.