I just made one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make

[guitar man]

It's open enrollment time at work. I just dropped medical coverage. Simply could not afford it anymore. I feel really down right now, I've always felt this is something I'm supposed to provide for my family and they have just made it impossible for me to do :(

[hippywife]

1. So sorry you had to make that decision.

I have a feeling I'm going to have to radically change mine, too, when our open enrollment comes around in January.

They are really gonna stick it to all of us, I fear. :hug:

[guitar man]

5. yes, I think a lot of us are going to get stuck

I guess the insurance companies are trying to "make hay while the sun shines."

They offered us an "alternative" plan to our ppo this year that was an outright joke. I thought about it and just dropped it all. We haven't had much of a life at all for the last 3-4 years because insurance premiums bleeding us dry. I finally said "enough". :grr:

[hippywife]

7. Like I've always said

it's nothing but a legalized protection racket. :mad:

[guitar man]

8. pretty much

the mafia just wishes they could operate the way these insurance companies do. I've plunked down close to $30k in premiums over the last 7 or so years and we've used around $7k worth including the portion they paid for my daughter's birth. I just can't see dumping any more of my meager wealth into their coffers. We're going cash on the barrelhead for doctor visits and see how that works out.

[Haole Girl]

2. Hopefully, you will be fortunate and have good health

I love the line in "Out of Africa," where Meryl Streep says, "Insurance is for pessimists." Of course, she had to leave Africa because she didn't have insurance... but we won't think about that if you've already made your decision.

[guitar man]

9. I've always bben a gambler

but it was a lot easier to gamble when it was just me

[KamaAina]

3. Goddam soshulists!

:sarcasm:

[TZ]

4. Take alook at what your state offers.

Alot of states have fairly affordable plans that you can qualify for and you don't have to be dirt poor either. My sister has been on Maryland's health plan from time to time and its not awful....

[guitar man]

6. Thanks

I have looked at it. The problem with our state insurance plan is, since I work for a company that offers insurance and has over 99 employees, I'm not eligible :(

[rurallib]

10. Please be sure to let your US Rep and your Senators know.

They need to know what is happening and how mad and frustrated people really are.

[guitar man]

11. Inhofe and Coburn

They don't give a damn about us, they've proved it over and over. :(

[rurallib]

12. My sympathy

boy that is a really, really tough decision.

[guitar man]

13. It was

very tough. I almost pulled the plug last year and the year before but decided to hang in each time. This time, no more. My life has been consumed with providing wealth for the insurance company while my family suffers. To hell with them :grr:

[Rosie1223]

14. Look for a policy with a very high deductible

to cover you should in catastrophic situations. I tell people that they can raise $10,000 for a deductible having raffles and bake sales, but if you need a transplant or something, hospitals don't want to see you if you are completely uninsured. And you won't have to bankrupt your family.

Sorry you are in this situation.

[guitar man]

15. I'm going to look into it

It will have to be pretty cheap though before I'll take it out. :hi:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

17. I had one of those

It was still more than I could afford in months when business was bad, and in seven years, it never paid for a cent of medical care.

The last straw was when I really could have used insurance (injury suffered when business was the worst it had been in fifteen years), and not only did the insurance company not pay a cent, they kept withdrawing the premiums from my bank account every month like clockwork.

It was a huge relief the month after I dropped coverage when the premium was NOT withdrawn from my bank account, because I truly needed those hundreds of dollars.

Even so, it took me seven months to pay off those medical bills.

[tigereye]

16. ya know, at one point we got catastrophic coverage for a while when we

were between jobs with health care. It made us feel a bit better, and it was fairly affordable at least for a while.

I feel for you - I was hoping that the health care changes would make a positive difference. I really don't see why insurance companies should be able to do the things they do - health care should be available to everyone without breaking the bank. :(

[guitar man]

19. I'm hoping when it kicks in

That we will be able to afford it again. Over the last 3 years we have just about stopped living to pay for it, and it just keeps going up. We have sacrificed and sacrificed to the point where there's almost no joy left in life because any little extra things we might want have had to be sacrificed to feed the health insurance monster. We finally decided no more, we've had enough. I hope it's the right decision.

I'm looking into catastrophic coverage, if it's not too much, I'll probably pick it up.

[tigereye]

20. I don't remember exactly how much it was, but it made us feel a little less

worried.

Seriously, I almost feel like people should start their own small cooperatives or contract with doctors and hospitals themselves.


Paying for doctor visits, shots, what have you out of pocket isn't too bad if folks are generally healthy, it's the larger stuff like hospitalizations, major illnesses or procedures that folks worry about, I think.

[alarimer]

18. My sister (who has MS and is on an expensive medication) lost prescription coverage.

I assume everyone in the company did.

This is the insurance companies shot across the bow of the Obama administration's health care plan. They are going to fuck over everybody, including my employer. And companies are letting them. This is the direct result of single-payer health care being off the table.

If insurance companies were afraid that the government would put them out of business, they would not be doing this. But the Democrats with their spinelessness and Republican with their asshole-ness, are letting these evil, useless corporations fuck us all over.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

21. I enrolled but, I think I have lost the raise they gave me plus some.

Add for inflation and I am making less money than the year before. :(

I feel your pain, guitar man.

[Bertha Venation]

22. oh, jesus christ

I'm so sorry to hear this, guitar man.

[Kali]

23. we pretty much went our whole adult lives without it

the few big disasters we had with the kids qualified us pretty quickly for the state's welfare coverage and things got so bad the last year or so we have qualified for almost this whole year - it has allowed us to take care of a couple big problems and may have prevented some worse problems, so while our financial situation sucks we have been able to finally qualify for SOMETHING, no way to afford coverage before or now on our own. I had such great HOPEs for at least that CHANGE.:-(