Yesterday Hubby had his annual work meeting to go over health insurance and stuff. Mind you, he is currently not even working due to the weather.
Now, in 2008 our family plan for health insurance was $10,000 for the year. That is strictly health...no dental or vision so we pay for those things out of pocket.
Last year it jumped up 34%. Last year we paid $13,000 for health insurance for our family.
This year? He came home to tell me that it is going up 34% AGAIN and that for 2010 it will be *gasp* $17,000! Seven-teen-thousand-dollars. SEVENTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS! That is a hell of a lot of money. That is about 1/3 of his income.
Now, another thing...there have been no raises to go along with these increases.
And...since the winter months are especially unpredictable for work, they take the entire insurance premium out of his check from spring through fall over a period of 28 weeks. I'm not even going to do the math on that one as to what that means weekly or monthly over those 28 weeks.
Needless to say, we are looking into alternative companies to find something cheaper. We thought about doing that last year, but in the grand scheme of things, I didn't think 13K was that horrible or outrageous. 17K is a different story. Going up 34% every year is a different story. Where does it stop?
In the insurance company's defense, I will say that they are insuring a group of construction workers in a small company. A lot of them are older. I know there is one with cancer, one who has had a massive heart attack and surgeries. A lot of them are heavy drinkers and smokers.
And as a society we are in a health care crisis. Though we are in crisis in a lot of ways if you ask me. I suppose no one ever said it would be easy. Or cheap. I know the impact this has on us...and we are getting by OK, debt free, emergency fund in place. And it makes me wonder how others, who don't have those things, manage. What a mess indeed.
And speaking of mess...here is a little paper-towel-free update. One of the outdoor cats was inside yesterday and poo'ed on the floor. Gross!! Hubby cleaned it up with...with......one of my newly knitted kitchen dishcloths! Yes, I was appalled. Come on...use toilet paper...it was closer to the mess than the dishcloth. Use an old rag, the bag of them was closer too. But, no, he used...the dishcloth. And it was a runny kind of poo too. Is this a male vs female thing? Because I am pretty sure there isn't a woman alive who would use a kitchen dishcloth to clean up cat poop. Especially one she knitted herself. I wouldn't think it would be a man thing either...but I obviously got proved wrong already on that one. There is at least one man on earth who would. And I married him!
Oh my.
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My sympathies about the health insurance. I hope you find a solution.
ReplyDeleteAs for the dishcloth on the poop!!! I mean, really! Your husband is opposite mine. Ben wouldn't let me get rid of the paper towels completely, and he still won't use the little rags I made for anything he deems gross. I even explained that we can throw them outside and let them rot if he thinks they're too soiled, but he insists on paper things still. That doesn't mean my knitted dishcloths fair any better. The man cuts holes in them all the time. Who washes dishes with the sharp side of a knife TOWARD their hand!! Guess we just married one of a kind guys, huh?
That is a lot of money for insurance, I wish you luck finding an alternative company.
ReplyDeleteAbout the dishcloth, definitely a male vs. female thing. My hubby hasn't done anything as bad as picking up poop with a (handmade) dishcloth, but he has done things that seriously made me scratch my head and wonder...
Lol about the dishcloth, and let me guess, he looked you and said, "Well you said no more paper towels!" That's what my husband would say. Gotta love 'em.
ReplyDeleteHave you looking in to HSA (health savings acct.) plans? I had one through my employer when I was single and loved it. In my case I had a $1,200/year so I was allowed to save that much every year pre-tax. Then I could use that money to cover my bills. If it every went over $1,200/year then I was covered 100%. My uncle, who owns a grocery store, has a similar plan for his family of 6 with a $5,000/year deductible. The nice part is (unless they changed the rules) that the money can build up year after year or you can just replenish what you used the year before. When I quit my job there was a gap where I didn't have any medical coverage and I still got to use that money to cover doctor visits, etc. Good luck to you! :)
WOW on the insurance!! thats just crazy. We get health insurance through the Union and I thought it was bad that our deductables went up to an amount I am no ashamed to complain about...
ReplyDeleteI have a husband who would use the dishrag for a shop rag... But he would holler at one of the kids to clean up the poo... Its their cats!!Lol
Wow. Just wow.
ReplyDeleteYou've been more than generous with your insurance premiums. I agree, time to shop around.
There are several alternative routes to go for insurance. HSAs are one of the good ones.
Here is another one to consider. Samaritan Ministries. Here's a short paragraph that sums the system up.
"Samaritan members pay only the first $300 of any eligible medical expense, so it could be just what you're looking for. The cost is currently $285/month for a family of any size. It's very easy to submit a need, and I have a whole pile of lovely cards with personal messages from members' payments when Bethany was born. We even received cards from people who weren't assigned to send payments. That's what you get when you are joined with Christian brethren."
The page on which I found this was:
http://inashoe.com/2009/01/samaritan-ministries-an-alternative-to-health-insurance/
Praying you find something that suits you perfectly.
And no, I would NOT use a dish towel! EW! Paper towels all the way! LOL
~Faith
OH MY GOODNESS!!!
ReplyDeletethat is a lot! that's many people's yearly salary even
goodness gracious!
there's got to be a better way
i know a friend who did well with AFLAC?
might be worth checking out
course--purchasing insurance can be so complicated!
good luck
and big hugs
i could throw up thinking about it
about the poop
EWWW!!
and a dish cloth you made!!
the perfect way to clean up animal poop in the house is with toilet paper and flush it down the toilet
it took my husband a long time to figure out it was better to do that then double bag everything and throw it in the trash (we often have foster puppies and such here)
Jennifer: ouch, ouch, ouch. There is nothing in your insurance story that surprises me, and everything in it makes me angry that our elected representatives of both parties continue to quibble and play politics while WE the people go uninsured or broke or both. Good luck in finding something--I'll be hoping to read good news.
ReplyDeleteWow! I'm so sorry about your health insurance problems. I am from Canada and I couldn't imagine having to pay that for my health like you do!
ReplyDeleteAll the best xo
oh honey i so sympathize with the health insurance cost. so glad you all are able to be so solvent during these economic times:)
ReplyDeleteyikes! def a man thing honey bummy:) they do do the strangest things!!
big herbal and honey hugs to you
I'm equally shocked in this post. The poo and the health insurance! Yikes! I do hope you can find a livable alternative. We just have health insurance, no dental/vision. We did live seven years with NO insurance, and doesn't it just figure, we never needed it. Blessing!
ReplyDeleteThe knitted dishrag poo scenario....GAWD! Speechless and gagging a little. :-)
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ReplyDeleteFor this Health insurance issue I am glad that I live in Belgium. We have an obligated health insurance here and that's the best thing you can have. Have you heard about the American journalist: David Simon. I invite you to read the post in my blog: A Very Interesting Man. There he speaks about this subject.
ReplyDeleteHa ha, what concerns men! They are everywhere the same. They have other living standards than women.
Health insurance. Don't even get me started! We have health insurance, and it STILL doesn't cover what we need!! In 2009, we paid over 6k out of pocket for medical bills (or more, that doesn't count prescriptions and various co-pays, that is just the big things), and that doesn't include the premium. Grrr.... But every year, the cost of the premium either goes up, or what they cover gets cut.
ReplyDeleteAs for the poo....my husband would have used the good bathroom face cloths. WHY? I have no clue. *sigh* Toilet paper isn't an option??
I looked it up what we pay here in Belgium for Health Insurance!
ReplyDeleteWe are pensioners and we pay 1.92O euro (2.751 $) per year. A visit a to a doctor costs aprox. 25 euro (35 $) but they pay back 75% of that amount.
Of course there's a difference when you are still working then the Health Insurance is higher but not so high as in other countries.
Maybe I better knock on wood when I say this all, because I hope that they can keep it that way.
Maybe president Barack Obama can bring a change in this issue, he made already changes. I hope it will change in your benefit!