I am probably being Dramatic...

[OceanAnnie]

actually, you can't afford not to have it.

mte.

 

[kevschickee]

In MA, health insurance is now MANDATORY. You even need to prove you still carry it each year when you submit your state tax return.

Yes this is true. You will get penalized if youy do not have it. I think it is $800 on your taxes if you don't have it

 

[kmvand1]

$100.00 a month, seriously? You cannot go without insurance if that is all you pay for coverage. Do what you can to put aside $25.00 a week, collect cans, search for loose change, seriously! We are not talking $500.00 here.

 

[tasha99]

<<Can you change to a catastrophic-type policy? A higher deductible? .>>
Actually, this is the type of insurance I have. It is $100.00 per month, which doest seem like alot but i just work pt( 2 pt jobs) and am a student and am trying to keep a roof over my head and gas in my car and food on the table so i dont have the $100.00 extra per month any more.
__________________

Have you presented your insurance bill to the financial aid office at your school? I had my insurance costs added to my budget. I have to borrow an extra $2500 per year to cover it, but it's well worth it. When you get financial aid, they give you a standard budget. Things like insurance and daycare are extra, but pretty easy to add.

 

[OctMtnWoods]

I would go around picking soda / beer cans & bottles from sides of the road and park trash cans to turn in for the 5 cent deposit before I went with out insurance. You would be surprised how much some people can make by collecting bottles and cans.

I'll bet there are lots of little ways that would add up to come up with just $25 per week.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

I thought all colleges required health insurance to take classes. You either have to prove you have insurance or have to buy the school insurance.

I know here in NJ it is only required if you are a FULL time student. So the OP is only part time, maybe she is not required to pay insurance.

I have school insurance now and when I called to get info about it the nurse at the school said "it will get you through"....but I know if God Bless us I was to get cancer or into an accident or something terrible where hospitalization was needed then I wouldn't know what to do, b/c the insurance isn't really that good.
And I asked what do I go if I get sick and she said to come to the office on campus....well I don't dorm and go to a college extension type of program, where the is another campus for people who attend night school, down the block from me. So if I needed care I would have to drive about 30 minutes and the doc is only there tues n thurs....yeah huge help.

 

[Halbleib1]

Yes this is true. You will get penalized if youy do not have it. I think it is $800 on your taxes if you don't have it

That is just wrong unless they offer an affordable insurance for those that do not receive it from an employer or who can not afford it. Many people can not get private insurance because of previous conditions and do not have it through their job so what do they do in that case?

 

[M5ward]

It is really scary to not have health insurance...even if you're young and healthy. Do whatever you can to keep your insurance. Is it through the college (I assume you're in college because you work part-time and say you are a student?) See if your school offers something more affordable for you before you think about dropping your existing coverage.

 

[OctMtnWoods]

That is just wrong unless they offer an affordable insurance for those that do not receive it from an employer or who can not afford it. Many people can not get private insurance because of previous conditions and do not have it through their job so what do they do in that case?

I believe "they buy you" the coverage for the $800. But you get the bill or its deducted from any refund you might get. State run coverage. Probably not great coverage. Probably same price you would pay if you went & got it yourself.

Haven't run into anyone complaining about it since it started.

Besides, the $800 is probably coming out of credits they got anyway which is already state / federal help.

 

[wall*e2008]

I know here in NJ it is only required if you are a FULL time student. So the OP is only part time, maybe she is not required to pay insurance.

I have school insurance now and when I called to get info about it the nurse at the school said "it will get you through"....but I know if God Bless us I was to get cancer or into an accident or something terrible where hospitalization was needed then I wouldn't know what to do, b/c the insurance isn't really that good.
And I asked what do I go if I get sick and she said to come to the office on campus....well I don't dorm and go to a college extension type of program, where the is another campus for people who attend night school, down the block from me. So if I needed care I would have to drive about 30 minutes and the doc is only there tues n thurs....yeah huge help.

She works two pt jobs but never said what type of student she was.

 

[disney1990]

It is really scary to not have health insurance...even if you're young and healthy. Do whatever you can to keep your insurance. Is it through the college (I assume you're in college because you work part-time and say you are a student?) See if your school offers something more affordable for you before you think about dropping your existing coverage.

HUM - Young and healthy. I love that. 2 years ago, out of the blue, my 8 year old granddaughter was diagnosed with cancer. Her medical bills have now totalled over $1 million dollars. Thank God for good health insurance.

One interesting note: my daughter goes to college in New York state. All the paperwork says that they "recommend" that you have health insurance, but I cannot find anything that says it is mandatory. (She has health insurance, by the way.)

 

[ceecee]

$100.00 a month is a bargain, get the insurance and cut corners elsewhere. It's not worth the worrying about the "ifs".

 

[ILoveKohls]

$100.00 a month is a bargain, get the insurance and cut corners elsewhere. It's not worth the worrying about the "ifs".

Thanks, this is great advice.

 

[penjen]

Pay for your insurance! I found out the hard way. When I was just graduated college I didn't have insurance or a job that would help with insurance. I got real sick and my room mate took me the ER well that week at the hospital cost me more than $20,000! I had to pay it back little by little. Once I did get a good job I paid it off as fast as I could and have never made a huge money disaster since!

 

[BoardWalkBelle]

I attend school part time now. My school does not make it mandatory to have insurance. I think only intl. students need to have it. yes there are student health insurance plans but those are for kids under 23, I am over the age limit. Unfortuntely between my two jobs if i take home $900. per month I am having a good month. And my rent is 600.00 so do you see my delima? With utilities, gas, food, etc. there is nothing left for "extras" such as health insurance.

 

[bennyrn12]

If you only make 900/mo and have expenses that are that high you should apply for medicaid. I totally agree with the previous posts, do whatever you can to keep it. I heard something on the news the other day something like 80% of bankruptcy filings are because of medical debt. I am a RN who works in cardiac critical care and i have had patients walk out of the hospital 6 hours after a massive heart attack because they cant afford the care due to no insurance, one even died that night. Go to your countys social services department, whats the worst they can say.. no?

 

[LaurenLC]

I obviously don't know your whole situation, but I could think of a lot of things I would do without before canceling my health insurance. No one ever knows what could happen to them any given day.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I attend school part time now. My school does not make it mandatory to have insurance. I think only intl. students need to have it. yes there are student health insurance plans but those are for kids under 23, I am over the age limit. Unfortuntely between my two jobs if i take home $900. per month I am having a good month. And my rent is 600.00 so do you see my delima? With utilities, gas, food, etc. there is nothing left for "extras" such as health insurance.

Do you have roommates? If not, do you have enough room to advertise for one?
Honestly, if it were me I'd work at finding a job with benefits, work more hours, and/or put off school before I'd drop health insurance.

Health insurance isn't an extra. It's a priority. I hope you find a way to keep it.

 

[mrsklamc]

Health insurance isn't an 'extra.'

I would think you would qualify for medicaid though; I don't know much about it but I think the poverty line is like 14k so you should qualify.

Even if you did cancel your health insurance though, something's going to give. 2/3 of a budget that small going to housing is not a sustainable budget.

 

[tasha99]

I attend school part time now. My school does not make it mandatory to have insurance. I think only intl. students need to have it. yes there are student health insurance plans but those are for kids under 23, I am over the age limit. Unfortuntely between my two jobs if i take home $900. per month I am having a good month. And my rent is 600.00 so do you see my delima? With utilities, gas, food, etc. there is nothing left for "extras" such as health insurance.

That's really short sighted of your school to only insure up to age 23 since they probably have tons of non traditional students. I've got student health insurance at age 42 right now.

What's your expected family contribution? Maybe you would be better off going to school full time and getting some loans (and if you're an undergrad, probably a Pell Grant). If you didn't qualify for anything this year, maybe you would next (if your income went down due to going back to school, etc.)

Edit: Another idea is to borrow the money for your health insurance now (only if you can't get it by dropping something else that isn't a "need") and pay for it with your tax refund. If you don't have kids you'll probably get a modest earned income credit ($200 or so) plus whatever you had to pay in. If you do have kids, you'll get a lot more. Also, you might qualify for food stamps. If you do, take your savings there and put it towards your health insurance.