It is a new year and I'm shopping for a new health insurance
company. Insurance through my husband's employer is just too
expensive. For family coverage, we'd be paying about $200
dollars more than our rent for coverage. Call me crazy, but I
don't think its in our best interest to pay more for health
care coverage than we do for rent. Plus, there is no way we can
afford it!
My husband's employer pays 50% of his insurance cost. That we
can afford. Researching rates, I have found several policies for a
reasonable, affordable price for myself and my son. Well,
reasonable estimates at least.
It's expensive to ensure good health, even more expensive to be
sick. Why the health care system works the way it does baffles me.
Basically, I have narrowed down a few affordable options:
- Quit my job and apply for medicaid. Right now, we make too much money to insure my son through the SCHIP program.
- Become a full-time employee at work to recieve health benefits. At my pay-rate, 60% of my pay would go for insurance and 40% would go for child care. Unfortunately, there are no hours available for full time work.
- Buy a policy for my son and myself that is affordable. The affordable part is tricky because it means our budget will be stretched to its max and I'll be looking up Ramen Noodle and hot dog recipies. Not really "healthy".
Option 3 seems to be the best long-term
solution.
Figuring out how to get insured makes me realize that people who
think we don't need our health care system reformed haven't
had to worry about health care coverage for whatever reason. They
either have tons of resources or are fortunate in working for an
employer who understand of healthy employees. I was fortunate
enough at one point to work for such a company, but now here I
am.
We aren't poor enough, but we aren't rich enough either.
Being stuck in mid-middle-class land is getting kinda crappy. While
we work to eek into upper-middle class, that fiscal bar keeps
eeking up with us so that it seems unattainable at times. Here I am
weighing to pros and cons of deductibles, copays, coinsurance and
optional coverage versus how much I can pay for a policy each
month.
We are an illness away from financial diaster at the
moment... and I'm a pay-check away from buying health
coverage. My fingers and toes are crossed.
