Baa, baa, baa

[sraun]

Gakked from adina_atl who got it from the_blue_fenix

I propose a US health care meme which might help put faces on how screwed up the current system is.

If you are a US citizen and could never under any circumstances afford private health insurance, copy this meme to your LJ. Even if you have health care through work now, write as if your one-layoff-away-from-losing-it has happened and you're facing the job of getting insurance on your own.

If you have friends or family members who are in the same boat and are not on LJ, feel free to mention them too. I suggest thumbnail descriptions which include no names or identifying information, in the interests of privacy.

My wife and I both have chronic health conditions. The last time I check, the face value of our monthly medications was nearly the cost of a monthly COBRA payment. Without health insurance, we'd both be in pretty bad shape pretty quickly. From what I was told the last time I was unemployed, the monthly premium for private insurance for the two of us would cost more than our monthly mortgage payment - if we could get coverage at all, one of my chronic conditions raises huge alarms any time an insurance company hears the word.

I'm working at a job right now that I don't like, and has some aspects that are ... interfering significantly with my ability to properly manage my health.

I realized recently that consulting / contracting would be a good career for me. Except for the fact that I could never make enough money to cover the private insurance, and my skill set is such that I'm unlikely to be picked up by a consulting firm in a position to get covered by their corporate health insurance. As I understand it, there is a requirement (either federal, state of MN or state of SD) that requires temp agencies to make health insurance available to their temps - I got to look at this once. It was a joke - the maximum monthly pay-out was no more than the monthly premium, and it had no medicine coverage.

My brother went to work as contract trucker in Iraq. There was no corporate health insurance available for his wife and high-school age daughter (who has Type I Diabetes) - he thought his wife would be able to find cost-effect private insurance. At least cheaper than the ~$1000/month COBRA. She tried, and failed. They took the COBRA. I don't know what they're doing now - the COBRA coverage should be reaching its end right about now.

Comments

[adina-atl.livejournal.com]

Yeah. There would be a lot more room for entrepeneurship and flexible job arrangements if we weren't all trapped by our health insurance.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

I've just checked Minnesota Comprehensive Health Association rates for my age group for the first time in several years. Wow, it's a good thing I moved to Massachusetts! I had MCHA coverage for 14 years after being turned down for private coverage after my COBRA ran out in 1990. MCHA premiums now cost $100-230 more per month for far (far!) less coverage than I have here. Even before Massachusetts passed its law requiring residents to have coverage (something I'm still very iffy about myself), it required every insurance company that offered private medical insurance in the state to offer it to everyone without evaluating (or gathering information) on their individual health. And they had (and still have) a good deal for self-employed people, allowing them to buy in at group rates, which saves me close to $1,000/year compared to individual rate plans.

Still, the entire situation makes me crazy. There's no reason it should matter what state any of us live in, or that health care coverage should be tied to employment. There are plenty of reasons it shouldn't!

[hornedhopper.livejournal.com]

{{{{{hugs}}}}

I'm not reading very often, but I'm glad I was reading just now to see this. Will add to my journal, too.

[toraks.livejournal.com]

sorry to hijack, but said I wouldn't unscreen comments on my other post

You're already friended and staying that way, don't worry! :-)