Health insurance is KINDA a hot button issue, if you hadn't noticed. Maybe you haven't. Miley Cyrus is pretty hot right now, too.
There isn't one, standard health insurance story on the human landscape. So many layers, emotions, experiences. If you're just now trying to find health insurance for you and your family, you have my sympathies.
This blog is all about saving money, and offering up mine and my family's experiences in that realm. Today, let's attack the FUN subject of paying for your medical stuff. Frugally, of course.
I have spent my life being very blessed in the health insurance department. My daddy worked for the government (HA!), so we had great insurance. Always got to go to the doctor, when I needed to, as I grew up. I had foot surgery and a tonsillectomy, braces and glasses. Nothing fancy, but we were taken care of.
I left the warm confines of my daddy's insurance to marry a man who made very good money. A white collar, finance guy, he also had excellent insurance with every company he worked for. My job provided the secondary coverage that took care of whatever his did not. When I was pregnant with Brendan, I remember him asking if I thought I could skip the epidural, which was not covered and cost $500. We're no longer married.
When I married Michael, we were able to purchase health insurance ourselves, as his company's policy was pretty pricey. We were able to make the monthly premiums in the beginning, and the insurance covered everything nicely. Michael had foot surgery, and also upper G.I. testing, without too much out of pocket on our part. I had pretty involved root canal surgery (pretty involved meaning the dentist had to send me, mid treatment, to an endodontist). That procedure had us paying $800 ourselves. It's not your imagination; dental work is like buying solid gold.
Our premiums jumped almost $200 per year. Finally, we just couldn't afford it anymore. We tried another insurance company, but for what we could afford, we got almost no coverage. We finally opted for no insurance at all, which to me in particular was very scary. I'd never been in this situation before.
Things began to get dicey when Michael was diagnosed with diabetes. Doctor office visits alone cost us $90. with the required (and frequent!) bloodwork averaging upwards of $200. We just bumbled along the best we could, paying cash and living that fabulous, tight lifestyle too many Americans 'enjoy.'
Last December, I started to experience some unwanted female issues. Panicking because I knew I needed to see the doctor (I hadn't had a pap in 5 years, but my mammograms were covered by the Susan Koman foundation, so I had them faithfully every spring), Michael and I started looking for affordable health care again. Finding nothing, we decided to get coverage through our employer. Alas, open enrollment wasn't for several months. When we were FINALLY able to enroll, we discovered our monthly premiums would eat up a large chunk of our already stretched thin paychecks. Michael had no other option but to start to work overtime, just to cover the $600 monthly premium. We also upped our AFLAC coverage to the maximum, and THAT alone has paid fabulous dividends. That cost an additional $40 monthly.
Aflac pays us $25 each for 6 doctor appointments per year. It was nice to receive those checks. I am anticipating my hysterectomy/bladder surgery October 18th, and since I will stay in the hospital, at least overnight, AFLAC will pay me for that, too. I can't begin to tell you how much that will help our family.
Your family's health outlook is probably much different than mine. Hence, health insurance is a very personal thing. I don't think you can make sweeping generalizations and try to fit everyone into the same health insurance box. What I CAN tell you is that it's not an area you can blow off. You need to do your research, and you need to find out exactly what you must pay out of pocket, both for monthly premiums and uncovered medical expenses. Having done all of that, if you decide you absolutely cannot afford health insurance, you owe it to yourself to somehow find a way to start a savings account, so you will have money on hand to help, should a medical emergency arise.
I share my experiences in hopes it might help you.
By the way, you may be wondering why I didn't mention my kids' coverage. They have always been covered by their father's plan, and just recently, their sweet bonus mom.
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