Finally. FINALLY. I have health insurance.
Well, sorta.
You just don’t understand all the hub-bub that goes on about health insurance in our country until you are faced with a health insurance crisis.
OK - I didn’t have a crisis, but I’m sure as hell not starting out on my trip without having insurance!
With all the insurance drama I’ve dealt with over the past few months I’ve come to realize that there are two groups who get taken care of the most in our country - the really rich and the really poor.
Now I’m not saying that the rich don’t deserve or the poor don’t need to be taken care of - i’m just saying what about people in the middle?! We are really getting screwed.
For instance, if you’re wealthy you can afford the best care in the world and also the best insurance in the world. Therefore if anything happens to you - you’re covered. If you are poor you don’t get the best care in the world but you also don’t really have to pay for anything. You get to be on government programs and whatever they don’t cover you get charitable groups to. And if they don’t cover it, well, you just don’t pay. Hospitals won’t turn you away if you can’t pay.
But for me - I’m screwed. If I would have had a heart attack over the past 6 months I would have drained all my funds, charged up my credit cards, and still be in massive debt to the hospital. And because I care about my credit score and I want to own a place of my own one day I would have to pay off those debts - I couldn’t just not pay them.
There is no government program that helps out the middle class. That’s crappy.
So here is what happened with me. I went through grad school with zero insurance. I had cheap school health care so I didn’t think to much about it.
I finished grad school and decided to start making plans for my trip. Decided I needed insurance.
Got scammed by some “health insurance like” program that said they were a combination of a HMO, PPO, and traditional insurance but WAS NOT actually insurance. It was a medical discount program. UGH.
I had to fight to get my down payment ($250) back from them.
Then I decided to sign up for a reputable plan. I was thinking of moving all my registrations back to Massachusetts so I checked out the insurance prices there.
OH MY GOD.
Massachusetts has some weird state insurance laws that prohibits any non-Massachusetts based insurance companies from selling there. And as you would guess, insurance rates are DOUBLED. WTF.
That made my decision to find a more permanent address here in DC a lot easier. Health insurance rates here are half!
So I went to Blue Cross’s website and found about 20 different plans. SOOOOO CONFUSING.
After 2 hours of going through all my options I decided on a plan that covers all the bases but has no bells and whistles. Literally NONE. I can go to the hospital if I am dying. Yay.
$180 a month.
But of course, there is a waiting period. I haven’t had insurance for over 6 months and therefore I am require to wait 180 days - and pay the $180 a month for that 6 months - before I can receive preventative care.
Again, I can go to the hospital if I am dying.
Oh wait - the application takes 4-6 weeks. WHAT FUN!
That means I need to sign up with a temporary insurance program to cover from now until then. Oh how I love to spend money!
4-6 weeks of temporary insurance from GradMed = $210.
Again, I can go to the hospital if I am dying…
Come get me avian flu - I’m covered… I think … I hope… Who knows…
This is just one example of a lower middle class guy just out of school trying to get covered in case something happens.
I can’t begin to imagine what it must be like for someone who actually has a chronic illness and has to pay more money for healthcare than they do rent.
It’s ridiculous.
We need to do something about healthcare in this country besides just talking about it. Will it ever happen?
Well, maybe after the government is done checking out what we are searching for on the internet they might get around to healthcare, or the cost of education, or American’s reliance on debt to survive…
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How are the really poor covered by health insurance?
The poor aren’t covered by health insurance. They are covered by governmental programs.
Though those programs don’t offer the best or most complete care in the world they do provide base level care.
I’m not trying to argue for a reduction in care for the poor nor am I trying to argue that the poor get care on par with that of the wealthy - I am arguing that the middle class are stuck in this in between place where they don’t qualify for assistance when they need it. And trust me there are times when they really need it.
The really poor are covered by government programs, provided they can figure out how to enroll. The rest of us (lower-middle to middle class) get to have fun figuring it out on our own. I’m lucky because my employer provides healthcare. I own the company though, so I know how difficult and expensive it can be. I would agree that it’s difinitely time to have a real national discussion about this because it doesn’t work the way it is now. Though, it seems real domestic problems aren’t on the agenda anymore…..
Neal - marry me so we can have domestic partner benefits.
Me love you long time!
LOL!!
That’s kinda funny…. Though, we definitely do provide those.
I’m just kidding with you Neal! We’d have to at least have dinner first.
I’m glad to hear you offer DP benefits!
Begin at the beginning — gaps in health insurance are the direct result of the tax code provision that makes health benefits deductible for employers rather than for employees, which makes companies the buyers of health insurance rather than the insured, and reduces competition and options for the employed and unemployed alike.
The solution is to get employers out of the health benefits business altogether. Pay people in cash, not benefits, and thereby incentivize insurance companies to compete, directly, for your dollars rather than your employers’.
P.S. I and my employer are also available to provide domestic partner benefits for a suitable candidate.
Kip - good point! I am finding that rates are much cheaper when you work for a company because they have buying power. When you are an individual it costs you an arm and a leg to..well..cover your arms and your legs!
DP bennies all around! Wohoo!
I’m just excited that as a small business I get to write off my health insurance!
That would be an interesting (read: expensive) catalyst for change in the insurance industry. I’m not sure though if it would really have any real impact on the middle class. Yes, it would free up some money from employers that would go directly to employees, but for a segment of the population that is usually strapped for cash to an extent, I have a feeling quite a few people who would’ve been covered by employers wouldn’t actually purchase insurance on their own.
It would definitely increase competition between the companies, but this also translates into higher marketing costs that could in turn increase the costs of the insurance beyond where it’s already at. And, from my experience with these companies they seem to have enough trouble dealing with and servicing individual companies, much less having to deal with individual people.
Of course, as am employer, I do enjoy the deduction as well.
I remember the first time after Grad school when I was covered by insurance, I felt obligated to go to the doctor. But I still never went, as a result of not having insurance for so many years. Weird!
I do go to the dentist religiously though. I definitely take advantage of that!
And that’s why you have such a wonderful smile Duane!!
I have health insurance as a Federal employee for which I pay around $80 a month. Because of my military service I could go to the Veterans Administration if I wanted to - which I definitely don’t want to - because I don’t have a lot of confidence in their health care.
Bottom line, I believe going to the doctor can make you sick(er). So I avoid doctors whenever possible but I want the insurance in case I absolutely have to see one.
Justin, I am sorry you had such a hard time dealing with health insurance. I could have been a great to you if I had known it. As I began reading your blog, I was already saying to myself, “I hope he did not fall for the insurance discount program scam.” But I see that you did. We live and we learn. I have patients asking me about it from time to time and usually convince them not to enroll in. It is NOT Health Insurance. Most hospitals and doctor’s offices either don’t take it or really hate having to deal with it.
If you have any questions about your new health insurance coverage and benefits, feel free to email me @ andrekoetsch@sbcglobal.net. The same goes for your readers. There is so much to know. You might have just inspired me to write a blog about everything there is to know about health insurance. It can get pretty complicated. I am very lucky that 1) I have always had good health insurance and 2) I work in the healthcare industry.
Good luck! Try not to get sick!
Justin, you hit the nail on the head. After I graduated college, but before I got a real job, I didn’t have health insurance. It always sort of knawed on me in the back of my mind that if I were to get really sick or break a bone, I’d be screwed. There really should be a serious discussion in this country about healthcare…but then again, there should be a serious discussion in the country about a lot of things. I’m not gonna hold my breath.
Hypoxic - We have a military man on our hands! What branch did you serve in?
Andre - You should start a blog about it. I can tell you that I found limited resources out there. I’m still waiting to hear anything back from them…nothing yet!! Very frustrating!! If I don’t hear from them in the next week I will def email you!
CoolBeans - Seriously, breaking a leg is expensive. I am so glad nothing of the sort happened to either of us!!