Does anyone NOT have Health Insurance?

[cathyz]

I'm facing a difficult dilemna. I've chosen to stay home with my 2 DS's; it's been a little over a year now. I've kept my Aetna benefits through COBRA (at @$800/mth.) October is open enrollment in NJ, and the cheapest plan is just under $1000.

Now, I knew this day would come, and I'm not asking for sympathy. I just wonder how to justify this??? This plan will only be avaialble through Jan. (COBRA only lasts for 18 mths.) and at that point my same plan will be $2000 (for a family policy).

I guess I'm really considering going without. I mean, unless there is a dire emergency, how could an average family possibly spend $2000 for a month of health care? We're all generally healthy. I know unforseen things happen, but...

Has anyone else taken this gamble?

 

[caitycaity]

yes. when i first graduated college and was job-less. i didn't have health insurance for about 6 months. fortunately nothing happened.

have you looked into BC/BS carefirst? i had a plan through them for awhile that i paid for myself. it wasn't too bad $$$-wise.

good luck to you whatever you decide.

 

[Serena]

I'm considering being in this dilemma. I talked with someone today that gave a card of an insurance broker that should be able to help me.

Maybe you could talk with an insurance broker and see if they have something to offer.

 

[Gail T AGAIN]

I have insurance right now throug my Ex bur evevtually he is going to marry the woman he is dating, it is a serious relationship. I am not sure of how my divorce agreement reads. My meds for the month are over $1000.00, needless to say I would have to stop my injections but for now I am taking each day as it comes. My place of emplyment does not offer health insurance, I am hoping to get (I think it is this) Mass. health for my disability but that isn't wasy to get nor I am not sure if I want that, not many dictors accept it. ARGH, life gets so complicated

 

[Kermit]

There are insurance plans out there that only cover you if you end up spending a lot of money in a year. They're a lot cheaper than normal health insurance. I can't recall the name of them at the moment, but basically what happens is you pay for the first $5000 or so of your family's healthcare. If you go over that, the insurance kicks in. That might be something worth looking into in your situation. DH and I have considered it, but since I'm at a place in my life where I'm having babies, it doesn't make much sense for us. I get my money's worth with my health insurance.

 

[C.Ann]

I find myself in a similar situation and I'm not quite sure what to do about it.. I have COBRA thru my last employer ($247 a month for just me) and it will run out in April.. To obtain health ins. on my own would be a minimum of $480 a month.. My DH is terminally ill and on SS now so with our limited income there is no way that I can afford that.. Here's the kicker though - if I go out and get a full-time job so that I will be covered under health ins. then my DH loses his under the VA plan and no one else will insure him because he has cancer..

What to do??? I'll be darned if I know..

I've considered going without, but I'm at that wonderful age where all of those female cancers and such sneak up on us and if I have no health insurance then we'll lose everything we own..

If anyone has a good answer to this question, I'd love to hear it!!

 

[gina2000]

This is a terrible solution, C.Ann, but if you get divorced in name only, he can keep his benefits and you can obtain yours. I've seen alot of couples have to do this in order to deal with situations like yours.

 

[bsnyder]

Kermit, I believe you're talking about catastrophic coverage. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but I think you outlined it accurately. You would pay out of pocket for anything routine, and up to a certain amount each year, and the coverage would only be for a serious illness. I'm sure the cost is based on how high you set your out of pocket annual deductible.

I'm very fortunate to have always had great medical insurance through my employers.

My older brother, who is mentally ill, is basically uninsurable. Just his "routine" medical costs are very expensive...I shudder to think about the future!

Sorry you are facing such tough decisions, Cathy & CAnn.

 

[cathyz]

Thank you everyone, and I'm so sorry to hear about your situations - much worse than mine.

Kermit, I have looked into the plan you're speaking of - an indemnity plan (like the old major medical plans). The cheapest in NJ is $387/mth, which sounds great until you see the deductible - $10,000, $20,000 per family!! EEEKK! Why bother even having it? After the deductible, it's still 50/50 up to $250,000.

I was just wondering if anyone is without it, by choice.

 

[Michelle]

Cathyz, I know how expensive private health insurance is...I cover my daughter and myself on a private plan (my husband's insurance does not have the doctors we use). However, even my PPO is nowhere near the cost you are facing; have you investigated all the different health insurers that insure in your state?

I know people that have gone without health insurance, with catastrophic results. No one thinks that one major illness or accident will hit them, and when it does they face financial ruin when socked with huge hospital bills. Or even worse, they need specialized medical help and can't get it because no one will treat the uninsured.

I certainly understand not being able to afford $2,000 per month, we certainly could not either, but I have to believe there is some kind of minimal policy out there (major medical) that will at least protect you against a catastrophic health problem.

Good luck, I hope you are able to find something!

 

[Dan Murphy]

To be without, CathyZ, is really putting your lifetime financial future on the line with health roulette. Health care, for everyone...consumers, providers (docs/hospitals) and insurance companies...is a true nightmare.

If your family is healthy, you can do well in securing a plan from a variety of providers. Additionally, if well, higher deductibles should not be of a concern. You should be able to look at a Blue Cross plan (I am confident they are available in NJ) with a $5K deductible, $1 or $2 million max benefit, for a dollar amount less than what you speak of here.

 

[goofygirl]

I was without insurance for years because I worked part time and had problems finding full time work.

Fortunately, I was rather young and healthy and didnt need much care. I am a little older now (33 is much different than 23!) and require more meds and drs visits than I used to. Luckily I have coverage now.


My plan when I was without insurance was to go to the ER in a real emergency. A lot of hospitals have "financial counseling" for people who cant pay, and they come up with a payment plan based on what you can afford. I was also going to use public clinics, and Planned Parenthood for GYN care. And I was also looking into BS/BC plans that were cheap compared to most plans.

 

[doxdogy]

I have no health insurance right now. I have been keeping my fingers crossed that my husband or I don't become seriously ill. But, I couldn't justify paying over $500 a month for COBRA.

 

[Deb in IA]

Toooooo risky, IMO.

Here's an example: A few years ago, I had a large herniation of my lumbar disc -- so large, that I could not move. The WORST searing pain of my life, followed by numbness of my entire left leg. The only option was surgery, or risk permanent nerve damage.


My surgery, recovery, and overnight stay in the hospital (less than 24 hours) cost over $42,000.

I don't know about you, but I don't have $42,000 to spend like that . . .

And I was young and otherwise healthy, too.

And you can never tell if you are going to be in a car accident, or have some other catastrophic event.




And even state hospitals (like the one I work in) are no longer very forgiving of debt. Outstanding accounts, delinquent more than 6 months are turned over to a collection agency.




I have to agree with what Dan said. You OWE it to yourself and your family not to risk that kind of financial disaster.

 

[fkj2]

Technology is driving a lot of medical costs now along with an aging population. Add obesity, drinking to excess, drugs, smoking, stress, poor driving habits, shootings, asthma, etc., and mix in medical providers who are just tired of it all and planning on quitting early and it becomes a recipe for disaster. As state revenues have dropped off in this economy, Medicaid cutbacks loom larger, even as people demand more services.

And don't forget the lawyers. How could you? They advertise everywhere for a potential client who didn't get the perfect outcome they wanted.

I read on one of the websites that now the insurances are going to try and stop paying for scripted antihistamines, esp. with Claritin possibly going over-the-counter.

The American population needs to wake up and take better care of itself.

As for the insurance, I pay for my own too right now, and try to stay as healthy as possible. Gave up those chips and lost 15 pounds this summer. Easy? No. Feel better? Lots. A lot of those scenarios mentioned in previous posts end with the person being dropped from the employer's plans. Fair, no but it's the reality for the time being.

 

[Tuffcookie]

I hate to say it, but maybe it's time to go back to work. It's nice to be a stay at home mom but not at the risk of not being insured.

TC

 

[danacara]

I'm with Tuffcookie. It's possible that a temp agency or part-time job could cover you.

 

[ead79]

I do not have coverage for the month of October (lag time between when my former employer's ran out and when my new employer's kicks in on Nov. 1), and I must confess it makes me nervous. I can still accept COBRA if anything happens to me during this month, so I'm not totally without health insurance options, but it still scares me. I would advise paying for a private plan.

 

[PrincessTori]

My parents own their own company and don't have insurance. This past July my Dad had a heart attack (age 42) and had to have quad bipass surgery as a result. Last total I heard was $80K between the two hospitals he was in. They said that they didn't make enough money with the company to pay for insurance so they always put it off. Now the payments they are wanting monthly from the hospitals are even higher. The hospitals are calling often and they are sending what they can, but nowhere near the kind of money the doctors and hospitals want. Its crazy that they think people can actually pay them several grand a month. They are looking at having to file bankruptcy and possibly losing most of what they have as a result. I had been urging Mom for the past few years to do something, they both smoke (dad quit the night he had the heart attack) and heart problems and many other things run in the family, Dad already had diabetes before this. They have checked into some insurances now and most will not touch them for any amount of money because of Dad.

My daugther was born at 22 weeks, and thankfully we were covered under my husbands COBRA at the time. He had just changed jobs a month before I started having complications and the company he moved to didn't have insurance in place yet. I had to have surgery at 18 weeks with two weeks hospital stay, then at 22 weeks my water broke and they couldn't stop her from coming. She then spent 5 months in the hospital a hour and a half from where we live. Needless to say we call her our Million Dollar baby (she almost cost every penny of that). I'm very healthy and had never been in the hospital before, it all changed suddenly. I'm so thankful we opted for the COBRA, we payed very little out of pocket in comparison to what it would have been. We even ended up having to stay on COBRA after the company got their insurance in place, because they wanted 70K a year to cover my daugther because she was born early. We ran it out to the end of the 18 months, after my daughter came home her medical requirements dropped alot in comparrison to being in the hospital, so they let us on for the amount that the rest of the company was paying, Thank GOD! We were very lucky that our daugther did so well, if her medical condition would have stayed bad, we might not have been able to get coverage. It worked out though. (By the way, Tori is a very normal 2 1/2 year old now, with little to no delays.)

I hope you all are able to find something that works for you. I'm seeing how bad things can be.

Wishing you the BEST!!
Princesstori

 

[ead79]

I do not have coverage for the month of October (lag time between when my former employer's ran out and when my new employer's kicks in on Nov. 1), and I must confess it makes me nervous. I can still accept COBRA if anything happens to me during this month, so I'm not totally without health insurance options, but it still scares me. I would advise paying for a private plan.