Do you have health insurance?

[Country Girl 43]

Hubby and I were discussing the cost of our health ins. It is outrageous! $800 per month!!! We have to pay for it ourselves. :( So I was wondering, how many of you have health insurance?

[natisha]

I have it through my job but I still pay for part of it each month & part of any bills too. I work for the Government too!

[grandmadeb]

Well, I am reitired and I have insurance through my hubby who is still working. I also have it through my ex- employer until I turn 65. I have to pay $100 a month for it and I get reimbursed for that by state. I am VERY lucky.
My daughters have finished school so they are no longer covered by our insurance so I had to buy it for them . Hopefully they will find jobs that offer insurance as part of a benefit package. The really good policies were $800 and up per month and that was not affordable so we went with a policy that has limited and defined benefits. 10 visits to a doctor a year with a copay, hospital limited to $25,000, which I pray they never need, stuff like that. Really it is a policy for generally well people.

[Kaitlyn]

I'm booted off my mom's insurance through work, so now I have none at all and it's too expensive. I'm terrified of getting sick right now.

[Horseaholic]

I've never had insurance until just recently at my previous job. The price is always CRAZY. My parent's too would have to pay their own and it's just too much money. At my previous job (I moved so I'm not there any longer and couldn't afford to keep up cobra) just for me was 800! He paid 1500 for his family of 3. It's crazy.

[Harleys Owner]

I've never had insurance until just recently at my previous job. The price is always CRAZY. My parent's too would have to pay their own and it's just too much money. At my previous job (I moved so I'm not there any longer and couldn't afford to keep up cobra) just for me was 800! He paid 1500 for his family of 3. It's crazy.

That's awfully high, I agree, but you know you can lower those premiums by raising the deductible or just carrying major medical, and that will at least protect you against a catastrophic illness.

I'm 55, self employed, my major medical is right at $200 a month. My son's family of 3 runs $260. Even that is too high:), imo, but it's better then nothing.

[cowgirlup@idaho]

I'm lucky and have insurance through my husband's job and very good insurance at that. That doesn't mean our medical/health care is free. We pay a copay for regular dr visits and have a 500 deductible per family member up to a certain sum (family deductible) total, maybe 2500?

Of our family, as the kids become majority age, only 1 has medical insurance (job provided), one is still minority age and under our plan, of 5 kids.

Insurance is something that needs to be planned for and budgeted in, if you can't afford medical insurance for everyday health, there are major medical policies that cover the serious and expesive things; hospitalization, surgery, major illnesses, that are affordable.
My older kids don't have this kind either. They pay as they require when they are injured and they don't have major illness (knock on wood).

[magayle]

we have it through my husbands work....just wondering...if your on ss disability are you covered for medical expenses?..hubby is thinking of taking early retirement at 57 because his back can't take the labor with his construction job as a precast foreman (38 yrs)....i'm being advised to go for ss disability...hearing what ya all pay for insurance, there's no way we could afford that on early pension...

[Tatesgram]

I have insurance through my company, but I pay a percentage of the premium and a co-pay when I go to the dr. I'm also enrolled in a cafeteria plan where I have an amount cut every month to cover anything that my insurance does not. Rx and vision as examples.

I do wonder how this new "health care" bill will affect the cafeteria plan. :(

[cowgirlup@idaho]

we have it through my husbands work....just wondering...if your on ss disability are you covered for medical expenses?..hubby is thinking of taking early retirement at 57 because his back can't take the labor with his construction job as a precast foreman (38 yrs)....i'm being advised to go for ss disability...hearing what ya all pay for insurance, there's no way we could afford that on early pension...

I'm not sure what your state does but here you have to qualify for SSD and it's not easy. It usually requires recommendation from a few Dr.s and then about 3 runs at it to try and qualify.

[livaward]

I have emergency health insurance that I pay for out of pocket....I was going to get on Hubby's insurance but that would have been $190 extra from his $40.....that is ridiculous!

[Ranger44]

I have it through work. I pay for dependent coverage for both medical and dental. I also have a co-pay for prescriptions and a yearly deductable. It's has changed over the years and costs more than it used to for the employee but still better than paying for the whole thing your self. It's one of the better perks in working for the State.

[magayle]

I'm not sure what your state does but here you have to qualify for SSD and it's not easy. It usually requires recommendation from a few Dr.s and then about 3 runs at it to try and qualify.

we hate all that government approval stuff and hate to even think about it....knowing my hubby, he'll keep on workin' even if he has to crawl before he'll go through all that....the misery of not doing what he loves to do would be worse then the back pain! for both of us!!!

[gaited07]

I'm fortunate to have two insurances between my employer and my husbands but we still pay each month.

[hoofservant]

I have my own policy through Humana One. It costs me $58.77 per month, has a $7500 deductible for anything other than a couple of wellness visits per year and its really all I need right now. Anything applied to the deductible is at the rate that the insurance company would pay, not an off-the-street out of pocket price that you pay if you do not have health insurance.

When I got laid off in March, I discovered that due to the way that the clinic had its insurance policy written, no employee is eligible for COBRA health insurance as the clinic is small enough that they also do not qualify for FMLA. The ridiculous part of this is that the clinic used a payroll company so that we were in a larger group of "employees" and could qualify for lower group rates. Perversely, the dental and vision were run through the payroll company completely, so I have COBRA dental and vision to the tune of $15.11/month thanks to the Obama Administration's plan to absorb 65% of COBRA premiums. Or else I would be paying $43/month for dental and vision. On the flip side, even if I had been eligible for COBRA health insurance, I still would be better off with my individual policy as it costs be $40/month less than the COBRA would. And because I already had Humana before hand, I was able to keep my existing physicians that I go to on the very rare occassion that I think something might warrant a visit. And beyond gushing blood, obvious broken bones and a few other things, I won't go in anyhow.

Being a part of an association, especially if you are self-employed, is a great way to have access to group plans that the association makes available to their members. I am a member of ABMP and we get all sorts of discounts through companies that the association participates with including health insurance, car insurance, cell phone plans through Verizon, and the list goes on.

There is Freelancers Union which is free to belong to. http://www.freelancersunion.org/ (http://www.freelancersunion.org/) They have excellent insurance rates, not much more than the policy that I have presently and as good of coverage.

In some states, you can become a group of one, so you are eligible for group health insurance rates, not individual. Then you aren't allowed to be excluded for pre-existing conditions if you have a certificate of continued health from a group policy, even if you have had cancer, heart surgery and so on. Once you have that sheet, it is gold in a group policy. I am not sure how you find that information, though, I'll have to look.

When you are looking for an individual policy, you are screened much more closely and they are far more likely to deny you coverage than to approve it. I jumped through all sorts of hoops to get my policy and I am a very healthy 32 year old woman. I had to get a letter from my gyn stating that I was 100% healthy, as she was my primary physician, (which never was sent in) and I almost had to get a letter from my orthopedic surgeon for my shoulder surgery 3 years ago, as well as from my rehab physician. It was a 3-ring circus.

However, just as they were setting the spinning fire plates in motion, miraculously my insurance was just approved without making me get any more information. LOL I have the premium direct debited from my account every month and that is that. It works just fine for me and is more of a way for me to have something to help dam health costs if I were to be kicked or injured in the course of my work day.

[MontysGirl]

We had 3 years of our insurance payed off when my dad retired from Iron working and now where paying $1200 a month for our insurance... Its killing us:doh:

[vicklynn]

I dont have it, even at my job.
Bob has it, but he pays for it.

[hoofservant]

Oh, forgot to add, what I am paying for my individual policy is less than what I was paying for my health insurance through the group policy at the clinic. ROFL!

[Miracle Whip]

I actually resigned from my current job because it wasn't 40 hours a week and I cannot afford their insurance. My new position is 5 days a week, 40 hours, and benefits

For 80/20 insurance for my husband and I (no kids) I will pay $120 every 2 weeks.

At my old facility it cost $160 every 2 weeks for 70/30 coverage with HUGE deductibles. The 80/20 insurance was $240 every 2 weeks I think. So just by changing employers I cut the cost of insurance in HALF.

[cheval]

I have insurance through my job (Government). It pays really excellent on prescriptions and so-so on other stuff. Bad for ER visits.

SSD is a nightmare to get through. I can take 6 months to a year or more.

[quest]

Luckily since i'm under 25 I can get health insurance through my parents if i'm a full time student. My mom's a nurse at a hospital so she has a pretty good plan.

[carla]

Well, I accidentally put that it's "through my job.." because we have it because of hubby's work. But technically, we pay for it.. it just comes out of his check. His company doesn't pay any of it I don't believe.

edit: but it still wouldn't be like paying for a policy on our own.. so I don't know. LOL. I'm tired!

[SedonaThunder]

I am VERY lucky - I am a "government worker" because the Convention Center I work in is owned by the city. I pay $50 a month for myself and my husband and we both have $10 copays for visits, $10 prescriptions, full coverage on doctors visits and 85% on emergency. However, it is GroupHealth and a lot of people complain about your choice in doctors - but I'm not complaining - just thrilled that it's so cheap! Oh - and we also have dental and vision included in that. I didn't use to understand why so many people stuck with dead end boring jobs with the city - now I get it.

P.S. My parents are retired (early retirement so benefits aren't there) and pay $600 a month for their insurance YET it doesn't pay much. My Dad had heart surgery and AFTER insurance paid their portion my parents still owe $30,000 on the hospital bill... and there's more coming from the doctor and the anesthesiologist! YIKES - that scares me.

[offgridgirl]

We pay out of pocket,monthly fee, here which covers for any medical appt or operation.
Prescriptions:), dental and eye are all extra!!