Health Insurance

I bought my own insurance for a lotta years while homesteading, trust me, I have a real good idea of the cost! LOL I am now on Medicare. Dunno how thats going to work out yet but its much cheaper than what I was paying.

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"Nothing so needs reforming as other peoples habits." Mark Twain

I am interested in doing more volunteer work so I am planning on being broke for the rest of my life.

Beeman, I know people that did save enough to retire but their medical costs have forced them back to the workplace.

I didn't have health insurance most of the time after I graduated high school. So far I've had one job that provided health insurance and it wasn't real good. If I thought I broke something I'd go to the chiropractor, x-rays are much cheaper that way. There is a self-pay clinic about an hour from my house. The guy (a Mennonite doctor) didn't take insurance. His rates were less than half of what the clinic in town charged.

When the state offered subsidized health insurance to single people a couple of years ago I took it. It is super good coverage (pays nearly everything 100 percent) but I know it has to be super expensive for the state. It is much better than most of the insurance plans offered by employers. Unfortunately it is a little too good because now the state is having a hard time paying for it.

If (more likely when) it goes away I'll go back to going to the Mennonite doctor. The idea of working somewhere just to get health insurance just isn't appealing to me. It would really have to be a job I absolutely love.

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http://www.xanga.com/shackman A blog about whatever

The insurance issue is a big one for my family. Hubby carries the policy for the four of us. He is 12 years older than I am so (in theory) he would be able to retire before I would. While we didn't like the way the national healthcare plan is worked out, we were glad that there might be something that was available to us in either NY State or Florida. Otherwise, those are tough states to find coverage in if you own property. I used one of those insurance sites that tells you your options about a year ago. The options that it gave for us don't actually apply due to income. The ones that advertise on tv as supplemental plans aren't usually offered in NY if you read the fine print at the bottom of the screen.

My guess is that one of us is going to have to keep working to provide benefits. My job doesn't provide healthcare benefits since I only work 4 days per week.

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~TheMartianChick~

My latest novels:
Bystander: A Tale of the End of the World as SHE Knew It!

Christmas in Bystander & Other Village Tales

Coming Soon: A Slice of Heaven

Yes, it happens quite often. But they did save and prepare. That's just part of the game and that's the game we're in.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

My wife works three 12 hour shifts a week at a local urgent care. The insurance they have is a HDHP. If we hit the deductible and add in what she pays every two weeks we come out to be a little under $8,500 a year. In 10 years we have hit our deductible twice; the first was the year my wife was pregnant and the following year she gave birth. I still say we did not time it right.

my bcbs major medical costs me $200 a mo, it has $1000 deductible and then 70% pay on major medical..with a max yearly out of pocket at $2500 after deductible..so $3500..i have an agreement with the hospital that any money that I have to pay in copays I can pay them at 4 % of the balance per month with a min of $25 a month, and I have surgery coming up Monday that will likely be in the multiple thousands..so the most I'll have to pay is $3500 if it goes through the roof ..probably quite a bit less..

the most I would have to pay per mo is $140..which would be very difficult for me to pay, but I won't "lose the farm" ..so to speak.. I'm not looking foward to the debt but am sure thankful I had the insurance..which cost me $2400 a year..but may save me thousands just using it one time for a surgery..

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Brenda Groth
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

I am a first responder in a completely rural and economically depressed area and I think in the last year I have responded to exactly one medical call where the patient had private health insurance. Everyone is on Medicaid or just flat out has no health insurance period and many refuse to go to the hospital even though they need to. We do what we can and then have them sign a waiver of medical care/transport and personally I think its a national disgrace that insurance costs have sky rocketed to the point where most folks cant afford it.

The servicing hospital here is about 30 miles away and they are great in working out payments with people in need and I have never seen them refuse to treat anyone but lots of people here are one catestrophic medical calamity away from losing everything. If I didnt have good and inexpensive medical insurance I would not be able to homestead like I am doing.

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www.salmonslayer-simplelife.blogspot.com

I don't see how ambulance services can even continue to operate especially with gov't money shrinking, same with fire dept.s.

Most hospitals turn accts receivable over to a collection company immediately now around here. I don't see how or why hospitals can accept payments anymore. Wonder how many can't or won't pay their hospital bills which makes the costs higher and higher for those that do.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost