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$1,145 a month - that is (imo) craziness! I am shocked how high insurance prices are, I am sure there are ways the industry justifies it all, but yikes, I cannot wrap my mind around the fees being justifiable.

 

I was just complaining the other day about how much is taken out of my husband's pay each week, and the amount of our copays - I now have a new appreciation for what we have! There are 3 of us covered, and at almost 1/4 of what you are paying for one person. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, that sounds borderline criminal.

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At that price, cancel the insurance and save the money you would have to pay.... then, when you need medical help, you can pay in cash and have money left over....

 

 

OK, seriously, that is not a bright idea, but that premium is awfully high... Maybe look around for another policy?

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Mine went up AGAIN!

 

Now I have to pay 1,145.00 a month. That doesn't include meds, dental or eyes.

I could just cry. :sad-smiley-012:

 

:blink:

 

Are you buying the policy or is this through an employer? Ours is through DH's employer. We had a big jump this year, in additional to having a high deductible. (Thanks, Obama! :motz_6: ) If we don't get rid of Obamacare, I wonder if DH's employer will even be able to afford to offer insurance coverage next contract year.

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Jeepers:(((( Thats insane! My husband works for Az Dept of Corrections and pays 50 per month for medical, dental, vision for the two of us. I use to work there to but was medically retired due to vertigo. My heart goes out to people who pay outrageous premiums!!!! Something has to give. Have you checked into local dental schools who work on the public? Community colleges who have dental hygiene programs also offer free clinics for the public.

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Thanks everyone for your empathy! It helps to know others care. :grouphug:

 

I got to thinking...they sent the notice and I got it on Friday. Right at the beginning of the Labor Day holiday weekend. I should have had a heart attack just to pi$$ them off. :0327:

 

 

 

Edited: because I'm a blabbermouth and probably gave too much information.

Edited by Jeepers
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GOODMORNINGTRAY.gif

 

I know what you mean about medication and all.

 

When Oldpine was working he had very good insurance as we found out when he retired. We are now paying as much or more for one box of insulin as we did for 4 boxes when he was working. We have Medicare and another insurance, but, they sure don't pay. Something has to give, we can't afford medication any more. :(:( But, of course we have to have it.

 

HAVEANICEDAYFLOWERSANDBUTTERFLIES.gifhugsgirlandflowers.gif

 

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Jeepers, Jeepers! (I've been dying to say that). That is crazy. I had tried to tell my folks when they wanted Obama Care to pass that their "low" deductables that they thought they were going to get, was actually not more than $2000. I tried to explain that their deductable was not going to go down because they pay much less than that. They didn't believe me and thought the Republicans were just saying that to get it to not pass. They were so mad at those "D*mn*d Republicans" for trying to stop it. Of course they know that I vote Republican!

 

(I hope I didn't get to political, just repeating what was said)

 

 

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It is rough. I finally got a bearable premium but I might as well not have it (unless I have a BIG problem). The deductible is high and I have never made it yet in 7 years. I would do better to not struggle to pay for it. Then I would have enough cash to pay for my meds which I can't do now. I don't fill alot of my prescriptions. Of course, I need coverage in case of a big emergency like cancer. You can't win either way.

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I've been told that I'm an exception on another forum but our healthcare premiums went down after Obamacare passed. Hubby had been paying $132 per week and it is now $52 or 57 each week. Have any of you received the insurance rebate checks from your health insurer? We haven't gotten one of those, but we've heard of other people that have.

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:tapfoot: Computer blinked and I lost everything I was posting!

 

 

Anyway, All my insurance is private because I got divorced and my income is from the divorce assets. So, I have to pay for everything myself. I did get a $200.00 rebate check from the insurance company. Awful thoughty of them!

 

Folks, keep this in the back of your mind when you lose/quit your job. Insurance premiums can really set you back.

 

Also stay at home moms...when you become retirement age you have to have so many 'credits' before you can collect any social security no matter how many years you worked. I was a stay at home mom with a husband with a good job. I managed to work 7 years but I still need 3 more years to collect any S.S. Not easy at my age and health. I still don't have enough to get disability if the need arises. If I become disabled tomorrow... tough luck. Not enough credits. Those 7 years mean nothing without the 3 more. I wasn't expecting after almost 30 years of marriage to be divorced in my 50's. At least I can get part of his S.S. when he retires. But I'd rather rely on my own. Who knew!

 

My son keeps saying cancel the insurance and pay as you go. That sounds so tempting until I looked up the cost of one year of kidney dialysis. They said $50,000.00 a year. After seeing my cousin on it I believe it is much more than that! Then I looked up the cost of chemo without insurance. Mind blowing. One shot is between $12,000.00 and $15,000.00 each. That isn't the I.V. kind. Just a shot. Then there is doctor, pathology, radiologists, anesthesiologist, hospital stays and on and on. Plus I was told, if you don't have Obama Care (oxymoron) you will be taxed an additional $2,000.00 a year for not having insurance.

 

I see my Dr. 1-2 times a year mostly to get my prescriptions refilled and I get a mammogram every 2-3 years. For that I'm going to be paying $1,145.00 a month. :motz_6:

 

Before the threat of Obama Care I was paying about $200.00 - $300.00 a month. One good thing though, most of my meds went generic so that has helped some.

 

Weren't we ALL supposed to be able to get on a government nationalized health care system? And then those who WANTED to pay for their own could? This hope-y change-y thing isn't working out for me.

 

Who is listening to the single middle aged women who aren't actively employed but who refuse to go on welfare? Am I going to have to get married to be "taken care of"...Oh Lawsy, I just scared myself half to death. :sHa_sarcasticlol:

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I've been told that I'm an exception on another forum but our healthcare premiums went down after Obamacare passed. Hubby had been paying $132 per week and it is now $52 or 57 each week. Have any of you received the insurance rebate checks from your health insurer? We haven't gotten one of those, but we've heard of other people that have.

 

That may not be because of Obamacare; your employer may have changed the "guts" of your plan. Don't panic; this doesn't necessarily mean that the coverage has been made worse!

 

Many employers have been (or are going to) go to a "self funded plan." Some megacorps just rent the insurance network and cover claims by themselves (charging/paying monthly premiums the actuaries figure out). Other medium/large employers just do a giant, company-wide deductible and pay minor/routine expenses themselves. This can save LOTS of money- which in a high-inflation environment means simply keeping your costs the same as before.

 

Insurance plans covering every sniffle and having low deductibles/copays is horrifically expensive- because you're basically paying the insurance company to handle expected claims. At that point you are paying the normal expense and then some because the insurance company gets its part of the money too. At that point the plan isn't *insurance,* it's "health benefits." Since these plans have been the typical thing for so long, most people confuse the two.

 

For various reasons we've become insulated from the actual cost of care- and so it's near impossible to get a cost estimate of routine stuff. There's other market distortions like government programs and the lawyers, etc. that screw up our system further. Otherwise paying for the minor stuff on your own would be more feasible.

 

Even if we shook out a lot of the red tape, a fundamental shift in society blocks reform or return to the old ways- so many people can't be bothered to save a little money for the unexpected. Even those with good salaries, many still live paycheck to paycheck. Keeping a couple grand around for a minor procedure (which is what it costs in many countries, vs. $8-10K) isn't a given.

 

If you have a high deductible plan, at least minor issues and tests are done at the network discount and not the inflated "retail price." The problem is, of course, that healthcare costs are so high that even a catastrophic policy eats up too much of the average person's budget.

 

Let's not even go into Big Pharma and Americans being charged several times the price they sell it for in Europe.

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Hubby is an over 60 self employed individual...and has no insurance, never has. I dropped mine many, many years ago because I couldn't afford it even then on a secretary's pay. Turned to my Bible where it says "Bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not ALL of His BENEFITS. He's been good! We've had some expenses but always had the money to pay them. Catastrophics...no. But most insurance companies have limits on those too. Couldn't recommend any way to win...seriously, because it's most likely a "no win" situation if our USA comes totally "unzipped".

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They take $970 per month out of my check for myself plus any number of family members. It has gone up every January for the past 6 years and I'm sure it will go up in January. And they're ending coverage for my dd25 (at the end of the month). My payments won't go down of course. We've thought long and hard about cutting back the coverage (I would still be required to be covered) but we're getting older and it has covered several expensive crises in the past few years plus now required meds are still inexpensive with the coverage. It's a really hard choice to make.

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I know Dogmom, it's depressing. :hug3:

 

Philbe, I'd be afraid I'd get a catastrophic illness, get in an accident or have a stroke (God forbid) and couldn't pay and they would liquidate my assets to pay off the medical bills. Wonder if they could take my house etc. to pay on the bills? That is a scarier thought that paying the monthly premiums. I guess we are going to pay one way or another. Pick your poison.

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I know Dogmom, it's depressing. :hug3:

 

Philbe, I'd be afraid I'd get a catastrophic illness, get in an accident or have a stroke (God forbid) and couldn't pay and they would liquidate my assets to pay off the medical bills. Wonder if they could take my house etc. to pay on the bills? That is a scarier thought that paying the monthly premiums. I guess we are going to pay one way or another. Pick your poison.

 

I understand your train of thought, like I said...darn if you do and darn if you don't. But...when my mom had a heart attack, the insurance only paid a part. Then the hospital threatened to put a lien against the house...scared them into gatting a loan. I don't think they can take your home, but I'm not an authority. I guess neither of us is frightened enough to get in a peeing match with the government, insurance company or hospitals/doctors. We'll pay what we can and then...??? We'll keep our money in our pockets. Hey Jesus...got some more room up there?! Truly a "Bug Out"!!! Living rapture ready.

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It is rough. I finally got a bearable premium but I might as well not have it (unless I have a BIG problem). The deductible is high and I have never made it yet in 7 years. I would do better to not struggle to pay for it. Then I would have enough cash to pay for my meds which I can't do now. I don't fill alot of my prescriptions. Of course, I need coverage in case of a big emergency like cancer. You can't win either way.

 

It isn't just the big emergencies that you need insurance for either. I pay just over $600 a month for insurance ( just medical, dental and eye are extra). My deductable is $2500. I never made the deductable at my old job when it was only $500 so I tried not getting the insurance. That didn't work. I hadn't been going to the doctor either because of no insurance. I only went to stat care if I had a problem. My problem is bigger because although I could get the family plan for twice the cost and twice the deductable, I would only be able to get my healthy daughter covered by that, (until she reaches 26 in three years.)It would not cover either of my two brothers whom I am responsible for right now.( Okay, responsible is a loose term. One brother isn't working and the other just started a paper route and a part time( 3 hours a day) job. Neither have health insurance or have the money to pay for any of their health care costs.)

 

So, as I said, I tried going the no insurance route. My blood pressure went up to 220/118 (which for those of you who don't know, is dangerously high.) I had run out of my blood pressure medicine and did not have any refills on my script. I made an appointment with my doctor, but he refused to see me at first. My daughter pleaded and he saw me for that visit, but would only deal with the strept thoat and my blood pressure, not any other problems that I had. This is because I had no insurance. I was told that although, for my daughter's sake, he agreed to see me, he would not address any problem that would require follow up with any other doctor because I had no insurance. That means things such as my foot that has become so painful that I can not stand on it at times, could not be cared for. It required a podiatrist. Because of this, I had to get the insurance through work that cost too much and didn't cover hardly anything, just so I could be seen by my doctor.

 

Without insurance it is hard to get care even if you can afford to pay for it out of pocket.

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When DH was going to school, he didn't have health insurance. I had to take him to the ER in the middle of the night.

It took us a long time to pay all of those hospital bills. We decided when DH graduated, he'd only take jobs offering health insurance.

 

Our insurance is through DH's employer. We pay half, they pay half. We're paying just under $500/month now. That's with a $2,000 deductible. We've never met the deductible, either. Our dental insurance is separate from the health insurance. We don't use the health insurance much. Mostly for my prescriptions (and it doesn't cover much of those!) and for my yearly gyn check-up (which the ins. covers most of; I just have a copay). My doctor (allergy/intergrated medicine doctor) no longer accepts insurance of any kind. It's $190/appointment. That doesn't go towards our deductible.

 

Our insurance went up this past Spring by nearly $150/month. We sure feel that in the paychecks. If O is re-elected, I hate to see what our insurance costs will be next year. Regardless of what company DH works for, they're all small businesses, so they may opt to pay the penalty and not offer health insurance. (This is going to be cheaper for them).

 

Because of DH's trip to the ER years ago, we don't want to go without insurance.

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Deb and OOTO, thanks for sharing your stories. I hadn't even thought about being turned away from medical care because of no health insurance. Makes sense now that Obama says we can all afford it. :rolleyes:

 

I'm 60 so I can't have a 20 year old's attitude. I know illness is in my foreseeable (sp) future.

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  • 4 months later...

While strictly opposed to forced purchasing of health insurance or penalty for not paying, it's always prudent to educate oneself about any and all options. Right now fortunate & thankful to have health insurance thru employer (15% premium cost share).

 

At least 23 states have now established their co-ops for health insurance. Other states have various other type plans outside the traditional insurance company system. Can go to your states insurance site for more info.

 

Have no idea how the non standard religious exemption claims to affordable health care act will stand up if challenged; but I will add the following info about cost sharing ministries as another thing to add to options AND if sincerely aligns with religious beliefs.

 

Also before I forget :Blushing: , if you require medications and are unaware of the 340B pricing, need to check into those hospital/pharmacy agreements in your area. When have more time will come back and post HHS link.

 

 

"The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides a second form of religious exemption, one for those who are members of “of a health-care sharing ministry,” which is defined as a non-profit, health-insurance alternative program, where members typically pay in regular dues and then contribute toward one another’s medical costs.

To qualify for the exemption, the Act requires a sharing ministry to meet the following conditions:

  • It must be a qualifying 501©(3) organization exempt from taxation under section 501(a)
  • It’s members must “share a common set of ethical or religious beliefs and share medical expenses among members in accordance with those beliefs and without regard to the state in which a member resides or is employed”
  • Its members must retain their memberships, even after developing medical conditions
  • The sharing ministry or its predecessor must have been in existence at all times since Dec. 31, 1999, and medical expenses of its members must have been shared continuously and without interruption
    since at least Dec. 31, 1999
  • It must conduct annual audits made available to the public on request and performed by an independent certified public accounting firm.

The Amish – thus double qualifying for exemption from the mandate – have participated in such co-ops for years. But there are also several such ministries established in the U.S. for people of other faiths and denominations.

Christian Healthcare Ministries, for example, is a 501©(3) cost-sharing ministry that claims its more than 100,000 members have shared more than $500 million in medical bills over the last 20 years.

“Christian Healthcare Ministries is not a health-insurance company,” the group’s website explains. “Rather, we are a group of thousands of Christians across the United States and around the world who share each other’s burdens in the area of health-care costs. We also pray for and encourage one another.”

Among similar groups are Medi-Share and Samaritan Ministries.

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We're wondering about these same issues with Mtn.Man. He's not 65 yet so we're not sure how it will affect him since he's self-employed on a VERY part-time basis. He went ahead at 62 but there's no Medicare at that age. This thing is so complicated, how do you know what is really "in it"...like Palosi said "you have to pass it to know what's in it"..???

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FIL dropped our dental insurance and didn't bother to say anything to anyone. It's $161.00 per kid for a cleaning. I started my home business a year earlier than I planned and am looking at going back to teach for the Red Cross so I can afford the denist.

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