Vent: COBRA insurance, seriously??

[HeartsOpenWide]

So I was laid off last month. Still waiting to get my application for COBRA insurance. I called the number to ask them when it was coming and asked them how much it was going to cost to have me and my husband on COBRA....$1,000 a MONTH just for medical. Seriously??? My unemployment check will not even come close to covering that, not even half! I am not in favor of Obama Care, but today I am seriously wishing some one would come up with a reasonable universal health care...Take my job away so I have no income and expect me to pay THAT for insurance...what are they smoking?

[missiedi]

I feel your pain. My husband has been paying 1,000 month for the last 6 years. He is finally getting a break b/c his medicare kicks in the this year,so now he will be paying 5oo month for me. This is without the 1000 family deductible yearly,co pays for doctor visits,medications,etc. Eyeglasses ? Dental ? What':uhoh3:s that? It is disgusting, while I watch people who have never paid into the system getting everything handed to them on a silver platter.

[tothepointeLVN, LVN]

You don't always need insurance. When I was in my early 20s, I didn't have insurance, my doctors office prorated my visit fees according to my pay. There was also a free client I could go to if I was really sick and the doc. office was closed. Talk to your doctors' office and see what kind of plans they have for uninsured low income or unemployed patients. Also talk to your local health department or social services office. There are a lot of programs out there that can help cover some or all of your medical bills if you get sick.

Well the burden shouldn't be on the provider to make free/cheap health care available. The healthcare system as it stands is seperate and unequal.

[saharamichael]

Be glad it's only $1,000 a month. That is CHEAP.

I personally find it troubling that a tiny fraction of our current (non-wartime) military budget would be enough money to give every American basic health coverage. Over 40% of our entire federal budget goes under the vague title of "military", and nobody is asking if it's really needed or not.

You must not be in the military. As a military spouse training is crucial to our men and women and in the military. Basic training for a soldier cost around $100,000, and then there is their occupational school, which can be from 4 weeks to over a year of additional training. Occupational schools, housing, base/ unit expansions, educational benefits, research, and other military programs that are not related to war-time cost money. I don't believe that military funds should be cut, my husband and all other soldiers put their lives on the line are and are completely underpaid. They deserve the best equipment, the best training, and the best resources available. This country isn't going to magically defend itself.

[SunnyAndrsn]

Well, you were lucky then. My husband was diagnosed with type I diabetes in his early 20's. If he had been without insurance, it would have been catastrophic for us.

Currently, we are using COBRA until my new insurance kicks in. It's kicking my butt--$901/month for medical for DH and myself. We had to drop DS, but he has duel coverage, thus he is still covered through MA.

It's a huge PITA right now, and it's the start of a new calendar year--which means we get to pay the annual deductible on any services we get now, as well as when the new insurance kicks in (March of this year.) It's like a triple wammy.

We dont' qualify for the subsidy as I quit my job. I may not have if I had realized I had to pay for three months of COBRA.

People warned me, and it's true. Health care workers have the worst health care insurance coverage, and policies for covering employees. I've never had a job that takes 90 days before you qualify for benefits until now. What's worse, the HR person told me DH's diabetic stuff wouldn't be covered anyway. I told her it would, as I would have continuing coverage, and quoted the Kennedy-kassebaum bill. She had to look it up. I wonder how many people she's scared away? How many people have gone without insurance and/or have *NOT* sought care for a chronic condition because of bad information.

When we were on vacation, we talked to several couples from other countries and US health care systems always came up. They just can't believe our bills and our premiums.

At my old job, I spent about $800/month on family premiums that included dental insurance, health insurance, an extended life insurance policy, and vision. If I had included DS on COBRA--with JUST medical, it would have cost an additional $400/month ($1300 total). To top it all off, I have about $1500 in outstanding medical bills right now--from before we made the COBRA switch.

Those who are not in favor of federal insurance/universal health care/obama care...what do you think the tax cost would be? Most of us are saying we pay at least $500/month...what would you pay for the tax coverage?

You don't always need insurance. When I was in my early 20s, I didn't have insurance, my doctors office prorated my visit fees according to my pay. There was also a free client I could go to if I was really sick and the doc. office was closed. Talk to your doctors' office and see what kind of plans they have for uninsured low income or unemployed patients. Also talk to your local health department or social services office. There are a lot of programs out there that can help cover some or all of your medical bills if you get sick.

[Bell13, ASN]

i didn't read the other posts to you vent but COBRA legally has 30 or 45 days to forward you the COBRA paperwork after you get laid off. soooo if your last day of insurance was on 1/26/10, they have until March 13th to forward it to you. At that time you will be able to apply for ARRA which is the subsidy. If you qualify you will only be required to pay 35% of the insurance total, 65% is covered by the employer. So if you already know you will be charged $1000 you will end up paying $350 per month. You can apply for ARRA right online when you receive your paperwork. The next thing is that if you choose to take COBRA you can pay the initial insurance payment which will be 2-3 months of payments and they will retroactively so back to you last date of coverage, so if you know you will be taking the COBRA coverage you can still go to the doctor if needed.

[tothepointeLVN, LVN]

You must not be in the military. As a military spouse training is crucial to our men and women and in the military. Basic training for a soldier cost around $100,000, and then there is their occupational school, which can be from 4 weeks to over a year of additional training. Occupational schools, housing, base/ unit expansions, educational benefits, research, and other military programs that are not related to war-time cost money. I don't believe that military funds should be cut, my husband and all other soldiers put their lives on the line are and are completely underpaid. They deserve the best equipment, the best training, and the best resources available. This country isn't going to magically defend itself.

I don't think that anyone would suggest cutting spending that would benefit good hardworking citizens/residents. Maybe instead of buying new jets every year buy new jets every 3 years. That sort of thing. I'm all for paying soliders what they are worth. Just maybe buy less bombs or something.

You give your husband a big thank you from TTP next time you see him

[Music in My Heart]

Keep in mind that through COBRA you will actually be paying more than the combination of your contribution and your employer's. Why? Because they're allowed to charge you an administrative fee of up to 2%. That $10,000 per year policy now costs you $10,200.

[saharamichael]

Jets are different than other military equipment. A pilot usually has his or her own jet; usually a cute little nickname on it too. If they leave the service that jet is given to another pilot; the name is changed. I have seen pilots whose jets should have really been updated but the money isn't there for that branch ( you will see this with Marines, they really need more money for jets). Jets aren't really wasteful spending. They cost a lot of money because they are a high tech eqiupment. Bombs get used, when they explode they can't be reassembled, so more bombs are needed. They cost money. I'm so pro-military its just silly.

Instead of overhauling healthcare why don't we look at medicare and medicaid. They take up about 1/3 of a state's budget and are full of fraud, billions more than private healthcare. An insurance company will not let a doctor over bill for a procedure or even bill for a procedure never done, but this is seen and happens all the time in medicare and medicaid.

Don't worry TTP I'll give him that hug for you :)

[CeilingCat, ASN, RN]

You must not be in the military.

And you must not be a civilian. :) If I add up all the taxes my household pays, we estimated over 60 cents out of every $1 goes to some form or branch of government, and that is with deductions including mortgage. He's got Type I D.M. If his employer didn't give him insurance, I truly believe we would be uninsurable.

While I respect and value the military, it's really hard for me to happily handing over the majority of our family's livelihood... if he ever changed jobs or was laid off, we'd be without healthcare. What good is a fancy half-billion dollar stealth bomber to me if I die of a treatable cancer whose treatment I couldn't afford?

As a military spouse.....I don't believe that military funds should be cut, my husband and all other soldiers put their lives on the line are and are completely underpaid. They deserve the best equipment, the best training, and the best resources available. This country isn't going to magically defend itself.

Would you feel the same about a healthcare improvement if you weren't already getting free government-provided healthcare yourself? Do you remember what it's like to spend 20-30% of your AFTER tax income to cover health insurance and related expenses? Do you understand some people are homeless because they had to choose between the treatment to save their life... and their family's home & all their assets? I believe ALL Americans deserve the best of everything. Which is why I believe we can't let citizens suffer & die because we've forged all the plowshares into swords, so to speak.

http://costofwar.com/

Imagine how many American lives we could have saved with just a tiny fraction of that spending.

[CeilingCat, ASN, RN]

You don't always need insurance. When I was in my early 20s, I didn't have insurance, my doctors office prorated my visit fees according to my pay.

Two problems with that:

One, you're expecting the healthcare system to give you services cheaper because you CHOOSE not to get insurance or pay full price. What happens if you do need something and that provider can't give you a pro-rated fee? And where does that money come from -- do the providers up the fees everyone else pays ?

Second problem: even young people sometimes need health insurance. Odds are lower, but it still happens. My friend and her husband are currently teetering on losing their farm. They're in their late 20s, and are healthy. Then he got into a motorcycle wreck (single vehicle). The way his state's vehicle insurance laws are structured, he was not covered by his motorcycle policy, so 100% is out-of-pocket. Buying health insurance was something they keep putting off. He shattered an arm, a foot, and several vertebra. He was in the hospital over a month, and then needed wound care, nursing, p/t, and medications for months afterwards. It happened last summer. It's not over yet and so far the bills are estimated to be close to half a million dollars.... to repair the damage of what happened in a split second.

Who has half a million dollars laying around in a medical savings account? I don't.

The kicker about health costs is that the time you need to buy health services the most, you're usually least able to earn money.

[DARLA766, BSN, RN]

You leave your job, but have the opportunity to purchase insurance at their group rate? I dont see the problem. Do you know what the policy would cost on your own? The perks of working are you get insurance and a paycheck. You leave and both end. If there is universal health care I may just quit my job, because the new administration is willing to pay people to stay at home and get insurance too. Sweet.

[DARLA766, BSN, RN]

i was also told by cobra that mine would be over $1000 per month for myself and my kids. however when the bill came, it was just $300, due to a subsidy that obama put into place.

Thanks obama, my kids, and my grandchildren get to pay the subsidy