This career move has to be one of the toughest decisions I've faced in a very long time. At issue is health insurance. I'll have to provide my own.There are so many plans out there. And the terms of each plan are so confusing. Lucky for me I have friends in the human resources office at the college who can look over the variety of plans and help me choose. Even with their expertise, we aren't quite sure what is what.
Thank goodness for the Internet. There are several helpful sites, like HowStuffWorks, that provide thorough tutorials on everything from coinsurance and co-pays to out-of-pocket caps.
I tell you, a genius (which I'm not) will feel like a complete dolt when trying to understand and compare health insurance plans.
EDITED TO ADD: I'm so discouraged I could cry. I just talked to a representative who told me that because of our psychiatric needs, my monthly premium will be more than $900 per month. Co-pays and prescription costs could add another $200-$300 per month.
Fuck. Me.
14 comments:
Good luck sorting this one out. I'm glad you have people with expertise to rely on. With so much deregulation and such in the last few years, things don't always work the way we assume they do. Unfortunately you can't take it for granted and you have to read all that fine print. I was thinking about this yesterday and was somewhat resentful that you just cant be added to your wife's insurance.
What really stinks is the family plans I'm considering will cover domestic partners, except in states (like Virginia) where such partnerships are not legally recognized. It sucks out loud.
Thank you very much GOP. Your idea of family values is fucked.
Unfortunately, one of the [sarcasm] perks [/sarcasm] of working part time, is that I don't have any benefits. So even if VA recognized DP's, I don't have any insurance to share anyway.
Its too bad we can't get DP insurance here though, if we did, I could be covered under Kim's.
Wow, that really sucks! I used to have to provide my own insurance. And even then when I was young and healthy, it was freaking expensive with a huge deductable. It was a happy day when BP got hired full time at the University and I was able to be covered by her insurance plan.
Can you use Health Insurance as a bargaining chip?
Talk to BentFabric, she had to provide her own insurance for a while, might be able to steer you towards something.
It all sucks and swallows, doesn't it. Grrrrrrrr.
Yup...been there, as you know. It costs to be insured and what really sucks for me is having a partner who has absolutely FANFUCKINGTASTIC insurance and I can't be under her policy.
God, that pisses me off.
I say go for the best policy and yes, READ the small print carefully.
My mom works for a 3rd-party insurance administrator-- the cost of health care is so high, they don't even offer insurance for their own employees.
Have you ever watched Michael Moore's "Sicko"? It won't make you feel any better...but it's worth a watch.
Are you not eligible for COBRA coverage? I know it isnt perfect.. but I have had to do that since my sudden death in the employment field..
We are working on using the health care as a bargaining chip. And when we *thought* we had the health insurance stuff mostly figured out, we had a pretty reasonable bargaining chip. But now we're looking at a $12,00-$18,000/yr chip... that one is a bit harder to handle. We have made it very clear to the consultants that we are *highly* interested, but that health care costs are holding us back. They have advised that we not give up yet and all continue discussing it. So we continue to research. Keep in mind that the company is still fairly new. I don't think *any* of us (THEM or us) really thought that we'd be looking at this full-time situation for another 3-4 years.
We have looked into COBRA. If we want to continue with the health care company we are using currently, we actually are required to use the COBRA first, or they will not accept the pre-existing conditions. Unfortunately, it is *very* expensive... it really isn't much cheaper. But the larger problem with is that it only lasts for 9 months. So that doesn't really solve our problem, merely delays it. (Kim and I are too detail-oriented to be ok with proceeding when there is a clear problem, even if it is a while down the road.)
*sigh* So the frustration continues. We are looking at two other companies right now to see how that might work. And if they don't work out, we have another idea or two on the back burner.
But keep the ideas and suggestions coming, please! We are finding them very helpful. We obviously don't have it all sorted out yet!
When I got divorced and dropped from my XH's insurance I didn't think it would be any big deal paying for my own insurance out of pocket. When I applied, I quickly found out that if you have ANY kind of medical history, they will promptly deny you coverage, even if you can afford it.
Because I had one abnormal pap smear two years before I was denied. And forget if you've had any counseling or had been on anti-depressants, they will deny you in a quick second.
I wish you luck with this issue. I have been un-insured for three years. I have been lucky that I am healthy and nothing bad has happened. I pay for my annuals privately and every time I pray that they come back normal. This January I will be covered under HG's insurance, which will be a relief!
My advice is to declare yourselves uninsured, and get the "cash only" discount. I bet it will cost you much less than $900 per month.
For prescriptions, insist your doctor give you the patient samples. When I was uninsured for 3 years, my doc was kind enough to provide me with $500/month worth of meds. (if I had to pay full price, cash)
Michelle, there's no way I would go with out insurance. We are finally getting the statements for Amanda's hospitalization, and it's topping out at over $6000 so far.
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