Last year the Health Insurance went up plus we had a $1000.00 Deductible..This year they said we had to switch again but the price dropped $20.00..BUT the deductible went up to $3000.00! WTF? I have to pay $666.00 per month for Health insurance PLUS pay for all my doctor appointments and prescriptions until the $3000.00 is paid. Total BS! If DH was working and not on disability leave we would pay only $60.00 a month as the boss would pay the rest but even at that its stupid. Its Independant health and they are supposed to be quality insurance at good prices! HAH! So I am canceling and We are gonna risk not having any. I can get my prescriptions at Walmart for $10.00 for each 3 month supply. I will have to pay Out of pocket for the doctor appts but I think its still going to be cheaper for the time being. Its just frustrating.

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Have you looked into the HSA/high deductible insurance plans? We had a decent one a few years ago that turned out to be cheaper than paying for health insurance through my husband's employer at the time, even with putting 100% of the yearly deductible money in the account, I think it was $5250/year. And if we didn't use up the money we put in the HSA (which we didn't) then the money was ours to use towards future health expenses or retirement. Our monthly payment was around what you're paying. If we ended up paying the entire deductible, we would have had some things covered at 100%.

It's a big risk. Imagine how much you'd pay without health insurance if someone were to be in an auto accident or get an illness like cancer.

I'm with Juju. We were bit 7 years ago, BAD! My hubby, who was perfectly fine, ended up being rushed to the ER (while we were out of town) for what he thought were chest pains. Well, come to find out it was kidney stones, thankfully. Of course, his couldn't be the norm, he ended up having a stent put in in hopes he'd pass them.. Well, they didn't and he ended up having surgery twice...once out of town and the other here at home. To make a long story short, when it was all said and done, the bill was over $25K. Thankfully, they took payments and it's now behind us.

Don't risk it, somethings better than nothing.

we are going to look around for something NOT through his work. However at the moment we are struggling just to pay regular bills with us BOTH not working because of Back injuries.I am going to go to see what help we can get via HEAP(Heating energy assistance program) or something like that. Thanks for suggestions everyone!

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Hubby has a new job and insurance didnt kick til the 1st, Dec 31st my 3 year old's ear ruptured so off we go to the Dr. The meds alone was $130 and $16 <$100 and $10 after Pharmacy added a discount they had>

Now Friday son hurt his ankle, today it still hurt so we went to Dr, had xrays, went to hospital, more xrays and a cast put on. plus seeing a Dr on wednesday or not..... just got a call from hospital, they found more cracks and want him in later today and told him not to eat anything so he can surgery.

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I really don't know what to tell you. We thought we had good insurance when our son was diagnosed w/ cancer-we had been paying through the nose for many years, with no real claims. We are still about 15K in debt. That being said, our insurance co. probably paid close to 200K. Think about it real hard before you totally drop it. It is totally frustrating, and while I wish you perfect health, it doesn't always work out that way.

I don't have any suggestions but personally, I can't imagine not having insurance. I know family who opted to *risk it* only to have big medical issues hit about 1 month later. It always happens with us...take a risk and bam...it nails you. I am WAY to conservative to risk that, given my family luck.

Good luck. Perhaps there is a different plan you can look into too?

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Also check into Healthy NY programs....I believe they offer coverage on a sliding fee, relative to income, but if hubby is disabled you may qualify. Their paperwork and the hoops you have to jump through can be annoying, but it is better than going without anything!

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The insurance monthly costs are no more than my plan through work, and I know it sucks. Your deductible is horrible. Does your drs office have a sliding scale fee? If not, maybe you should find one that does. Our office does, and it cuts my co-pay from $30 to $0, and reduces everything else by at least 30% depending on the procedure/visit. I also ask for a professional discount on anything else I get done - through the hospital or wherever. I recently had an MRI done and owed $1600 after insurance. I asked for a prof discount, they knocked it down to $300 owed and let me pay $10.00 per month. Sorry you are going through this, it really doesn't seem right.

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That really isn't a bad price. 15+ years ago when DH was self employed we bought insurance for our family of 5. $500 a month and a $5000 deductible. This was 15 years ago!!! We figured we could handle anything up to $5000 but it doesn't take much to go over that.

As much as insurance costs, I still will not be without it. If it is weird and medical it happens to my family. My dd got sick 4 years ago with viral encephelitis.. $100, 000 was paid out by insurance. The next year it was cancer and gall bladder $40,000. When my kids were younger they were always at the doctor with ear infections. Two of them had mastoiditis which is not suppose to happen with antiboidics.
I had a severe reaction to a med.

Just an FYI, if you have a lapse in coverage, most plans will not cover 'pre-existing conditions' for a certain amount of time -- usually 90 days - 1 year.

Be Thankful you have insurance DH doesn't and we cannot even get a private policy no-one will underwrite him. Its $300 everytime he goes to the Neurosurgeon plus we still owe $6,000 from the surgery which was our balance after the insurance he had then paid. We could not afford COBRA it would take his whole Disability Check and leave us with no money to pay for basic necessities in life like Food, car insurance, home insurance or even utilities my check doesnt even cover the mortgage and lot rent and utilities anymore. We are on a payment plan and I figured it out it will take us over 16 yrs to pay the bill off and he was just denied SSDI they say there is no problem and we have documented proof he still even after surgery has the same problem he had before the surgery. The state wont cover him on Medicaid unless he is disabled through Social Security doesn't matter he has the designation through Long Term Disability.

I would be thankful to have Insurance with any deductible right now for DH, even for me because medicare sucks they wont pay for my coumadin checks no matter how many times we appeal them and send them medical documentation and I am in debt to my primary care for close to $3,000 now and paying them monthly too and adding to it each week. Thankfully DS is the states FAMIS program or SCHIP program and we pay $2 for everything.

Dont cancel, dont do anything rash because you will regret it in the long run, suck it up and deal with the higher deductible trust me you do not want to be where my family is right now its not pretty and I see no way out of it anytime soon i couldn't even get insurance through H&R Block because I work P/T and it would cost more than my paycheck and doesn't offer full coverage or cover any pre-existing for a year so it makes no sense. Please do not risk it keep what you have or look into a HSA policy they are awesome and offer some tax benefits too.

I don't mean to sound preachy or whiny, but in this day and age you need medical coverage even with the higher deductible.

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I grew up with no insurance and when we did get insurance, less than a year later my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 Lung Cancer
pretty risky
Suzanne

Linny, have you checked to see if your son is eligible for any state programs? When my dd was going thru cancer treatment our state (MN) had a program for children with serious conditions that didn't figure in the parents assets or income, called a TEFRA waiver. It also helped pay for meals, mileage, and parking, as we had to travel over 2 hours for treatments. Call your county Medical Assistance office.......can't hurt and they may retro back to help with some bills!

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"It's not about how much baggage you have, it's about whether or not you can carry your own baggage with grace and dignity."

This is such an important point!

You are correct that most plans will not cover pre-existing conditions if there is a lapse in coverage from the previous insurance company.