So I'm a software developer in the market for a new job. Right now I'm in an HSA provided my my employer... it's not real expensive, but it's a lot more expensive than the one I had from my previous employer. Of course there's been a lot of upheaval since I took this job in 2012.

My brother has been running as an independent consultant for the past 6 years, and has been providing his own insurance. He decided to take a full-time job, in part for health benefits, in part to have a guaranteed stable income.

He got some sticker shock when he saw the premiums. It's a LOT. I'm on Aetna, and so is his company. His premium is about 300 more/pay than mine for the same plan. Now, my current employer contracts with the government and there is a lot of back-and-forth employees, so maybe my company's employee contributions are kept low to make it look more attractive to government workers thinking about coming over.

He's found that he can get a MUCH better plan for about $100/month more than the bare bones plan if he keeps his current health insurance that he thought was pretty high. Maybe the pool is more high risk in his current company? I don't know.

But as I'm looking for another position, I'm wondering if it's really worth it anymore (for the most part) to get health care through your employer, since it didn't work out that way for him. Is his employer just not pitching in much at all and other companies are, or is this cost breakdown seemingly becoming the norm out there?

All depends on what your employer is offering. My employer fully funds my HSA, pays the premium on my 10k deductible insurance, and reimburses me for expenditures between the $6500 HSA contribution and my $10k deductible. So, I have 0 out of pocket medical as long as I stay within network. Most employers aren't that generous, but many times it is cheaper than providing your own.