Same. We are uninsured. Though we are poor enough to qualify for some government health insurance. I am waiting to hear when Tate will be on CHIP. It freaks me out. But we can’t afford to pay for insurance while my hubs is in grad school.

California also has a children’s health care plan. Wherever you live should be one, just check into it. As for you not having health insurance, you might be able to find a mental health department with low cost meds and doctor visits. I looked into that for myself– I am bipolar and the only health insurance I could get was catastrophic through a government program (in Colorado this is called CoverColorado)– NO insurance company would even consider me– but they did not cover meds or p-doc visits. I went to the county mental health department and was able to get therapy and doctor visits for a cost based on my income- literally I paid $5 a visit. I also made sure my doctor prescribed the generic version of my very expensive meds. It was the best I could do at the time. I hate how those of us with treated mental illness are discriminated against. If you didn’t get treatment, you could probably get insurance. Now THAT is crazy.

Every state has a CHIP program, and the income limits range from 175% of poverty (in Alaska, and you probably don’t live there) to 400% of poverty (in New York.) Look up your state’s requirements at http://www.insurekidsnow.gov .

My husband and I are looking at starting our own business…and the most terrifying part is the lack of affordable health insurance. If we do it, I think we’ll probably get a high deductible “just in case” policy, and pay the rest out of pocket. For a relatively healthy family, I just don’t think we pay enough in any given year to justify the $10000 we would pay for standard (and still pretty crappy) insurance.

I would definitely recommend looking into catastrophic insurance. I know several people who chose to forgo health insurance on the basis of it being (a) too expensive and (b) they were generally healthy… and then they got sick, or needed surgery, or had an accident and racked up tens of thousands of dollars in debt. It can happen so quickly and be entirely out of the blue. Obviously if you can’t afford it, you can’t afford it, but if you can, then get the bare minimum at the very least.

http://www.practicallyperfectblog.com

I understand. I have worked at a major insurance company in the individual underwriting department. I have seen how high the premiums can get. It’s not a matter of being flippant. I’ve seen some families pay more than our rent every month. I am Sooooo lucky right now to have insurance that covers 100% through the military. After both of my children were born, we had hospital stays, after the first child, I ended up in the hospital and needed surgery, after my second, my daughter ended up there for several days, and I can’t imagine the debt we would be in if not for our insurance. I don’t think I would ever work anywhere that didn’t offer medical insurance benefits.

If people are being so careless about their children’s health, what else are they being careless about? If you’re willing to forego something as essential as health insurance, what else are your children going without? If you can’t afford to insure you’re kids, don’t have them.

As someone who works for a small privately-owned business with fewer than 10 employees, and whose household income falls just over the gap for our state CHIP program, I am somewhat shocked by the negative reactions expressed about those of us who take care of our families without health insurance. After spending a few years without health insurance, my husband and I have learned that even with a few unexpected, large emergency bills, our total healthcare expenses have been far less than what they would have been with health insurance. Additionally, because of all the processing/etc. involved with receiving payments from insurance, many doctors prefer for patients to pay cash so they can have their money immediately and it is a drastic savings over what an insurance company would pay for those same services (so, basically, if I am insured I am paying a higher rate in order for those insurance companies to be able to pay out more money to the same doctors, if the doctors I prefer are even on their specific plans). Because I am not limited to the doctors “on my plan,” we are better able to find doctors who fit the needs of our family, and we are able to choose the tests/procedures that those doctors, my husband and myself feel are necessary – not just those that the insurance company will provide for. Furthermore, until there is some reform of the entire health insurance system, costs for medical insurance for those of us who fall in these gaps will continue to be astronomical. Approximately 10 years ago, when I was covered by a good insurance plan, I got my annual pap and pelvic exam from an OB/GYN on our plan and paid only a $30 co-pay for the visit (I now pay around $100 to $150 for the same services from my current OB/GYN, who was out of network on that plan and therefore would not have been in the co-pay group, and who I began seeing while still on that insurance policy because he’s much better!). She, in turn, for the simple routine exam, billed my insurance company close to $1,000 each year – of which, my insurance company paid over $600 each year!

I honestly don’t know how you Americans do it. Land of opportunity, eh? I’m awfully happy not to have to worry about paying out of pocket for health care. I’ll keep happily sending in my taxes, thanks!

This is one of my favorite things about my husband being military, is the insurance we get. Tricare isn’t always the best, but it’s free…. I think we paid just over $300 for my sons birth, and that was more for meds and being able to have a room in the hospital lol:)

We considered this but then thought of the what ifs & decided the insurance was worth it just in case. good thing we did because when my oldest was just a month old he got a really bad case of rsv & ended up in the hospital for a day, was life flighted to a better hospital & spent a total of 6 days there before finally getting well enough to go home. only then to be put on all kinds of steroids & medications. If we had not had insurance we would have lost everything & never been able to dig ourselves out of that hole.

I laugh at the ones who say “please reconsider” the choice about insurance. As if we are gloating for ‘saving’ money by not purchasing insurance. My family of 5 has been without insurance since 2008, when I lost my job and we formed our own company (small business). Guess what?

Small business are screwed when it comes to insurance plans, even if you use the local chamber of commerce or any other avenue to get a good rate. To insure my children and my husband alone it is 1500 a month. Add me, and its another 1000. For people who are not sick, ‘just in case.” That is our reality.

My children are not LACKING in health care. They get annual exams by the same pediatrician they’ve had since they were born. I take them in (and pay for it with my own money) when they are sick. I do not overlook annual exams. I pay out of pocket for all medical issues, labs, and other necessary things. I work on keeping us healthy via our nutrition, and wellness options.
Health insurance is simply not an option right now. That’s a simple fact of life. Not something I have casually blown off. I’ve considered it. I consider whether or not we can afford health insurance vs. a home mortgage payment. Could I afford almost 2K a month for health care? Maybe. Will I buy it? No. Not when what I pay for out of pocket is FAR less. For those of you who argue that those random events bankrupt you, well do you not realize those same ‘situations’ will likely devastate you financially with or without insurance?

In my observations, from working in a health care clinic in the past, if people would not flock to physicians for minor sniffles or coughs, then perhaps premiums would not be so high. The insurance available today is not what was around when we were younger, which was for expenses over and above the ordinary doctor’s visits. For all of you who demand Mercedes quality health care, but refuse to pay for more than a hatchback…. well that is the reason rates get higher.
For now, I trust in my God, watch what we eat, do what we can to prevent things we can prevent. That is all I can do.

My husband is a Police Officer and because of a completely benign irregular heartbeat+his career of choice they wont even insure him .. NICE.. and of course $500+ a mo for the rest of us is 100% out of the question.. Our state also has a children’s health ins plan that we would qualify for.. but Ive sent them the same info over and over again and they keep losing after the 3rd time I just gave up.. that was just all I could take. So we do not have health care either and my children receive their vaccs from the health dept at a $40 fee.. cross our fingers.

I’m Canadian. Forgive me if I find this all a bit…backward. @Gwyn: I highly disagree with the statement that free healthcare should not be expected. It should. Keeping your citizens, your neighbours, your friends & family healthy & thriving MUST be a concern. And not healthy at a burden of costs they can’t afford. We pay high taxes, and I’m happy to do it. I walk my babies into their appointments & medical emergencies w/o worry of to afford or not.
Healthcare “affordability” is a damn shame.

My husband has health insurance through his work, my son is on CHIP, and I am uninsured. I get my depression meds from a health clinic that is for people without health insurance.

^^^THIS.

$1109 a month. That’s what it costs to insure my healthy (read no pre-existing conditions) family on a private health plan. Oh and it’s a low priced, high deductible catastrauphic plan.
Affording Health Insurance isn’t as easy to do as some of you think it is.

There is a reason why, in 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada declared the ban on private insurance unconstitutional. It’s the same reason why I, when working in healthcare in Detroit area, often saw Canadian patients paying cash for MRI’s, mammograms, surgeries…there is a big downside to single-payer/universal systems.

That’s why many European and other industrialized countries have, like US, a multiple-tiered system that is a combo of private and public health care delivery systems. Germantown, the Netherlands, Japan…research their systems and you’ll likely be surprised.

Furthermore, it’s factually incorrect to state the US is the only developed country without socialized medicine. Between Medicaid, Medicare, and military health benefits, 31% of US citizens receive health insurance from federal govt. Add federal employees, that number greatly increased. Add to THAT state and local employees it’s even higher. Then there are county health clinics, public university health centers, Planned Parenthood, and the like which are also funded by taxpayers. The US is NOT without socialized medicine.

My family spent some time not so long ago without insurance. Lost job, Cobra ran out, couldn’t afford to pay premiums…it was scary. I get it, the US system has deficiencies that need to be addressed. But in a few years once Obamacare is fully in force, Casey and her family (and mine) won’t have the option to pay out of pocket…it’ll be literally against the law to make that choice to not carry health insurance.

One last thought…if healthcare is a right, why isnt food? And water? Grocery stores have a higher average profit margin than health insurance companies…isn’t it obscene that they are profiting from the fundamental human need for sustenance? And if I can’t afford my water bill, the utility company can shut it off, depriving my family of drinking water and sewage. Why shouldn’t food and water be a right?

My family can afford insurance and we spend our money on good coverage. That being said, I don’t know whether I believe that “universal” healthcare is the solution to our nation’s healthcare problems… I’m afraid that it will just lead to a bigger gap between those who can afford care and those who can’t. And that it will lead to families like mine – right in the middle – footing the bill for people who don’t take responsibility for their own health. And that it will lead to an overall decline in the quality of healthcare that is available becuase the field of medicine will decline in prestige and the smartest, most caring people will no longer want to be doctors and nurses. In the long run, I just don’t see that as a good thing. There has to be a better alternative.

That aside – if you don’t have health insurance and you find yourself faced with a large bill, I have two tips: (1) see if you can negotiate a payment plan with the provider so that they don’t turn your account over to a collection agency – no need to ruin your credit if you can help it and (2) though I’m not sure how to go about this exactly, demand from the provider that you be given the insurance discount or charged only the negotiated rate. Hospitals have been reprimanded by courts, at least in some states, for discriminating against people based on whether they have insurance.

Good luck, folks.

My DH and I were paying $1600/month to cover ourselves and our 5 kids though our own business’ small group plan, for really high deductibles and high co-pays. The insurance co. mis-processed a payment and the associated paperwork to drop one employee from the plan, and cancelled the whole plan, retroactively. That was the ONLY company that we had found that would even WRITE a plan!