I’m sure this topic has come up before, but when I searched for it I ended up with some strange hits (wages at WalMart(?) and a few others that seemed equally irrelevant).
Anyway, I’m presently getting insurance through the Small Business Service Bureau, but this is the third year in a row that it’s gone up 25%-30%. I’m tempted to drop it, but last year I needed stitches (kick back on a chop saw of all things. Reminder: don’t work when you’re tired). A quick tip to the ER would have cost nearly $1000! Of course that’s less than two months of insurance, but it’s a risk I can’t afford to take.
Anybody know of a ww organization or small business assoc that has group insurance? Anybody know of some way of forming one? Say for all members of Knots forum?
Yours in health,
kt
Replies
Sorry I don't have an answer for you, but you might want to throw this question at the Breaktime group. There's a lot more people in there and many of them are small business owners.
“The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume
good advice, thanks
Look into MEGA Life and Health. They aren't cheap, but no individual health plan will be.
Also, talk to your accountant. He/She might know of other plans used by some of their other clients. There are ways to make your premiums deductible and your accountant can help you with that.
Whatever you do, don't try and go without health insurance!
Our Chamber of Commerce has a group plan. Only glitch is, it might require that you have employees. I can't remember from years ago when I used it. AARP has group plans in some states, but you have to be 55 yr.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I believe we've all felt the crunch as rates climb along with gas costs and now, in may, power tools costs as well.
This brings to mind the recent democratic debates. Most, if not all the candidates have a national healthcare plan in the works. Some of these involve group policies such as those available to our congressmen and women which are far superior to what the individual can obtain for the same price. I'm not going to take a political stance here on knots, but I just thought it was really interesting that this has finally become a spotlight issue.
As for me, I keep a $750 per year major medical plan with a significant, $5000 deductible.
It doesn't help when one needs stitches, but the money saved on premiums can be put into a tax-exempt medical savings account for events such as the one you unfourtunately had with the chop saw.
I don't know what it takes to arrange a group plan as such, but I think this is a good idea.
Keep us informed.
vincent
We were in for a huge awakening when my husband retired from the State of Oregon in the fall. He was eligible for medicare, I'm quite aways short still.
If you live in Oregon, and you've been with a group policy for more than a specific period of time (2 years, maybe?), and you lose your group coverage, the insurance company must take you as an individual subscriber. Not so in Washington, which is where we live. I could not get individual coverage of any type, even the high-deductible such as the one you're carrying. Past back problems (herniated discs, never any surgery, nor is it planned) gave me enough "points" that they don't have to consider me for individual coverage. The only people who can get individual coverage, it seems, are the incredible healthy -- usually very young I'd venture to guess.
So, now we're paying over $800/month for COBRA just for my coverage. Once we exhausted COBRA (18 months), then Blue Cross/Blue Shield has to take me as an individual.
It's about time health coverage became a focus issue![Typing w/ 1 paw sucks; plz 4give typos]forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
FG,
I feel your pain. My wife and I are in a similar situation. We've both got pre-existing health conditions that mean no insurers will even talk to us, much less offer a plan of any kind.
Blue Cross is the insurer of last resort in Michigan, and that's where we wound up. I just got a notice in the mail that our premiums are going from 908.00 per month to 1137.00. And that's for a catastrophic coverage plan: no prescription drugs, doesn't pay for doctor's office visits, no optical or dental coverage. My wife had a crown put on a tooth a month ago and the cost was 950.00 out of pocket.
The only saving grace is that I've incorporated, and I can deduct all of our health expenses - insurance premiums as well as the charges the insurance doesn't pick up. So, in the end, although I make a decent amount of money, my corporation only manages to pay me a few thousand bucks a year. Everything else goes to insurance, medical payments, and other expenses. I feel like I'm working for the insurance company...
One of the most aggravating parts is that Blue Cross can raise the premiums as high as it wants and we have to pay it. We have to pay it. There's no other choice for us, period. I've talked to a dozen other insurers, and because of our pre-existing conditions (and who doesn't have at least some at age 55+?), they just laugh us off and recommend we talk to Blue Cross.
And you're right in that you can't be without health insurance. One bout of cancer or a serious operation and we'd be wiped out financially if we didn't have the coverage.
I try not to think about stuff like this too much. It's pretty depressing, and makes me wonder if the entire trajectory of my life should have been different. Why didn't I enter the corporate world, where health care coverage and other benefits are still offered (though, I know, not as freely as they have been in the past). It's pretty much impoverishing us...
Zolton
ktay:
What is often overlooked, is that without any type of health coverage, you are at the mercy of the caregiver's standard pricing, which may be double (or more) than the price that an insurer would pay for any given service. This actually means that the poorest members of society are hit with the highest prices.
The advantage of any insurance plan, is that your-co-pay is based of the prices negotiated by the carrier, not the one's published by the caregiver.
We had a high-deductible plan that itemized the "rack rate" and our price. It varied by item, but it was an eye-opener.
Whatever you do, do not go without anything. You are not just risking your health, but your finances as well.
Not really, relevant, but healthcare in this country is disfunctional - period.
Regards,
Hastings
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