Health Insurance ...Pandybat

[freesurfer]

I wanted to post in your other thread but it's closed. I like what you said about health insurance and your question to Bush.

My first question would be why my daughter and I can't get health insurance. We "supposedly" make too much money, yet they don't take into consideration things like utilities, groceries, etc

Maybe someone can elaborate on this idea?

[pandybat]

I'll elaborate.......IT SUCKS! LOL

[Taxman]

I can agree with that, but it's not a Federal issue. It's a state and local one. Talk to your local state representatives (your state probably uses the bicameral system so you should have a representative and a senator).

[bwsmom]

I'll go one better... talk to the insurance companies themselves. Angus and our dd are uninsured because it would cost nearly $600 PER MONTH to add them to the policy I have through my office! No kidding folks... that's $600 PER MONTH!! We decided we'd be better off setting aside our own little medical fund to use when needed...

Of course, the insurance companies will tell you their rates are high because doctors'/facilities'/drug companies' rates that they pay are astronomical, the doctors will tell you it's because of all the lawsuits and malpractice insurance they have to deal with, etc, etc, etc..... it's a vicious cycle, but I'm not blaming the government for it... insurance companies could keep their rates down, making insurance more accessible to everyone, but they don't. And people could be a lot less litigious, but they're not. This is one issue that is most definitely not GWB's fault....

[pandybat]

It's not only the insurance companies. We can't even get Medicaid!
Our situation is much like yours, Kim. If we paid for insurance for my daughter and me through my husbands work, we would be paying nearly as much per month as our house payment. If we paid only for her and not me, we would be paying as much as a car payment. Yet my husband can get insurance through his work for around $40 a month. His employer pays for it. I never have understood how much it goes up so much if you add someone to your insurance. Going by how much my husband pays, if we added me and my daughter at the same rate, it should be about 3 times the amount he pays for himself, say $120. That much we could handle paying each month. BUT NOOOO! It jumps up to at least 10 times as much if not more. I just don't understand it.

The dumb thing is when you apply, they don't ask you about things like how much you spend on groceries per month, gas to and from work, lunch money, tuition for school or anything like that. They want to know how much you pay in credit cards, house payments and car payments and little else.

[Taxman]

The point is, however, that the Federal gov't doesn't have a direct say in how Medicaid is dispersed (the subject of whether it's a good thing in the first place is a topic for a whole 'nother thread). The feds allot the states a dollar amount, give them some basic guidelines, and then turn them loose. Your state leaders decide the exact qualifications for eligibility.

[Twinplets]

Originally Posted by pandybat

Our situation is much like yours, Kim. If we paid for insurance for my daughter and me through my husbands work, we would be paying nearly as much per month as our house payment. If we paid only for her and not me, we would be paying as much as a car payment. Yet my husband can get insurance through his work for around $40 a month. His employer pays for it. I never have understood how much it goes up so much if you add someone to your insurance. Going by how much my husband pays, if we added me and my daughter at the same rate, it should be about 3 times the amount he pays for himself, say $120. That much we could handle paying each month. BUT NOOOO! It jumps up to at least 10 times as much if not more. I just don't understand it.

It's cheap for your husband because his company pays most of the coverage for him. But most employers aren't willing to foot the bill for families, so pretty much the entire cost gets passed along. It's usually still cheaper than if you bought coverage directly from an insurance company.

[christopher60]

Originally Posted by Twinplets

It's cheap for your husband because his company pays most of the coverage for him. But most employers aren't willing to foot the bill for families, so pretty much the entire cost gets passed along. It's usually still cheaper than if you bought coverage directly from an insurance company.

That is right. My husband's company pays for him but the rest of us are paying 600 a month (for medical and dental). That is very normal. Medical insurance costs have gone CRAZY!