Clearly I don’t use my available (Canadian) healthcare system as much as I should, and it hurts because I AM paying for it in several ways, taxes included…
…it seems I’ll only see the benefits when I have a major accident, or do any sort of checkups – which clearly also don’t happen enough.
I guess having paid-for healthcare isn’t like getting a gym pass. When I get a pass I feel obliged to use it to make sure I’m paying for good reason. Where medical checkups are concerned, and having a healthcare plan – I still don’t feel compelled to use it. Probably not paranoid enough.
…like you said, I guess I’ll have to wait for some sort of real injury or illness. Unfortunately.
torbjorn, I don’t know much about the Canadian health care system, only that it may or may not be better than the US system, according to who you talk to.
jrandom42, my advice would be to try Pilzer’s book, The New Health Care Solution. It’s linked above, and it has been out for a few years so you can probably pick it up at the library. I’m not sure if it can help, but it’s worth a try.
You can also look into what your state offers in terms of private health care plans. If you have health problems, you should definitely have health insurance – there’s no escaping that. The difficulty is trying to find something affordable, and for that you should look to the experts.
For short-term situations, people should also look into COBRA, which basically extends your current coverage after you leave your job at the group rate for a few months. I don’t have a great understanding of it so I might be getting some stuff wrong, but here is the fact sheet from the U.S. Dept. of Labor.
Jacci, Cobra is something to consider too. I guess I left it off because I just received a Cobra statement and the monthly premiums are 5 times what I was paying. Definitely not an option, for me at least.
Okay, my daughter got a referral to a cancer treatment center and everything looked good, until her appointment was blocked and I had to go see the billing dept. They wanted $150,000 up front before allowing my appt. Wonderful. she’s gonna die because I can’t afford the treatment. What a great land America is to allow such a thing.
Think I’m alone in this? Check out the Wall Street Journal 4/28/08 on Cash before Chemo.
Got some things straightened around. Most of this is because of her treatment for leukemia when she was 3. Got them to come down by a third. Still, as a recent college graduate with a pre existing condition (she’s 27 now), she’s pretty much untouchable by any public or private insurance plan. We’ve managed to come up with some cash by taking out a second mortgage, but it’s rough on all of us. She’s been clear since she was 7, but apparently that makes no difference. The hospital has advised us to sell everything, but coming up with $100,000 just to get her in to be seen for treatment is obscene, and there’s no way we have that much in assets.
To top it off, the oncologist thinks it’s all my fault. She claims that if I hadn’t in an area that had been sprayed with Agent Orange, she wouldn’t be having these problems. Gee thanks, guess that’s what I deserve for serving my country.
This post really speaks to me. I had health insurance while I was working my corporate job, and now that I’m an entrepreneur, I feel kinda scared not having any insurance to protect me.
I really can’t take a part-time job at starbucks because being an entrepreneur takes up 99.9% of my time. I do want to start taking the bus or train to LA, but the public transportation here in SoCal is horrible.
I will however take up sky diving! I’ve always wanted to go and now I have a reason to go do it.
Once my own company gets up and running I plan to enroll. While not quite as good as my company policy that I have right now.. you could potentially save a lot if you have costly monthly subscriptions or save you a lot in the case of an emergency or accident…
Great post. I recently joined the ranks of the uninsured as even with Cobra health insurance would be way too expensive considering my successfully unemployed status! Thanks for the list.
Matt, great point. Susan Johnston brought that up as well over at Brazen Careerist. I didn’t know of that, thanks.
Adam, I agree, when I saw the prices of COBRA I realized it just wasn’t an option for me. Too expensive, not worth it when I’m young, healthy, and minimum risk. Luckily there is a three month grace period to enroll in COBRA, so you “sort of” have a backup if you get into an accident or something. Good luck!
Qvisory just launched a health insurance product in partnership with Aetna specifically to help young Americans get health coverage. It’s definitely worth checking out!
@ jrandom42 The best way is to find the cheapest medical insurance. I have currently been without any health insurance for over a year now and I do not want to risk that any longer! The is, of course, money. The insurance offered through my job is pretty good, that's include the dental.
@ jrandom42 The best way is to find the cheapest medical insurance. I have currently been without any health insurance for over a year now and I do not want to risk that any longer! The is, of course, money. The insurance offered through my job is pretty good, that's include the dental.
My sincere opinion is that I prefer to have a nice health insurance plan and give up on my high risk auto insurance. My health is more important and being healthy allows you to work and make money so you can pay the doctors if at some certain point you have to.
You can survive without insurance. Of course it's better to have one, but unless you're going to sky dive or race your car everyday, you can manage. There's a whole line of online drugs to fit your needs, and I don't think it's necessary to visit the doctors so often, because you can get paranoid.
Hey, found your site by accident doing a search on Google but I’ll definitely be coming back. – Wise men don’t need advice. Fools won’t take it. – Benjamin Franklin 1706 – 1790
Monica O'Brien is the Director of Digital at Fizz and author of the book Social Pollination, which helps businesses leverage social media for crazy growth!
Monica O'Brien is the Director of Digital at Fizz and author of the book Social Pollination, which helps businesses leverage social media for crazy growth!
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Clearly I don’t use my available (Canadian) healthcare system as much as I should, and it hurts because I AM paying for it in several ways, taxes included…
…it seems I’ll only see the benefits when I have a major accident, or do any sort of checkups – which clearly also don’t happen enough.
I guess having paid-for healthcare isn’t like getting a gym pass. When I get a pass I feel obliged to use it to make sure I’m paying for good reason. Where medical checkups are concerned, and having a healthcare plan – I still don’t feel compelled to use it. Probably not paranoid enough.
…like you said, I guess I’ll have to wait for some sort of real injury or illness. Unfortunately.
Any tips for those of us without insurance who have chronic life-threatening conditions like cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and so on?
torbjorn, I don’t know much about the Canadian health care system, only that it may or may not be better than the US system, according to who you talk to.
jrandom42, my advice would be to try Pilzer’s book, The New Health Care Solution. It’s linked above, and it has been out for a few years so you can probably pick it up at the library. I’m not sure if it can help, but it’s worth a try.
You can also look into what your state offers in terms of private health care plans. If you have health problems, you should definitely have health insurance – there’s no escaping that. The difficulty is trying to find something affordable, and for that you should look to the experts.
This is a very resourceful post, good job!
For short-term situations, people should also look into COBRA, which basically extends your current coverage after you leave your job at the group rate for a few months. I don’t have a great understanding of it so I might be getting some stuff wrong, but here is the fact sheet from the U.S. Dept. of Labor.
Jacci, Cobra is something to consider too. I guess I left it off because I just received a Cobra statement and the monthly premiums are 5 times what I was paying. Definitely not an option, for me at least.
Ha, good to know, I totally thought the rates would be lower. That is definitely steep.
Yeah, I definitely thought the rates would be much lower too. I was completely bummed to find out they weren’t… may as well get a private plan.
Okay, my daughter got a referral to a cancer treatment center and everything looked good, until her appointment was blocked and I had to go see the billing dept. They wanted $150,000 up front before allowing my appt. Wonderful. she’s gonna die because I can’t afford the treatment. What a great land America is to allow such a thing.
Think I’m alone in this? Check out the Wall Street Journal 4/28/08 on Cash before Chemo.
jrandom42, I’m so sorry to hear that. I am with you that our health care system needs a serious makeover. But I’m not sure what the solution is.
Hello jrandom42, am sorry to hear that, their rates is not lower when compared.
Got some things straightened around. Most of this is because of her treatment for leukemia when she was 3. Got them to come down by a third. Still, as a recent college graduate with a pre existing condition (she’s 27 now), she’s pretty much untouchable by any public or private insurance plan. We’ve managed to come up with some cash by taking out a second mortgage, but it’s rough on all of us. She’s been clear since she was 7, but apparently that makes no difference. The hospital has advised us to sell everything, but coming up with $100,000 just to get her in to be seen for treatment is obscene, and there’s no way we have that much in assets.
To top it off, the oncologist thinks it’s all my fault. She claims that if I hadn’t in an area that had been sprayed with Agent Orange, she wouldn’t be having these problems. Gee thanks, guess that’s what I deserve for serving my country.
Hi Monica,
This post really speaks to me. I had health insurance while I was working my corporate job, and now that I’m an entrepreneur, I feel kinda scared not having any insurance to protect me.
I really can’t take a part-time job at starbucks because being an entrepreneur takes up 99.9% of my time. I do want to start taking the bus or train to LA, but the public transportation here in SoCal is horrible.
I will however take up sky diving! I’ve always wanted to go and now I have a reason to go do it.
Jun, I hear ya. No health insurance is no fun. And I am so happy you’re planning a skydiving trip now! I should get on that.
Don’t overlook the Freelancers Union…
Once my own company gets up and running I plan to enroll. While not quite as good as my company policy that I have right now.. you could potentially save a lot if you have costly monthly subscriptions or save you a lot in the case of an emergency or accident…
http://www.freelancersunion.com
Great post. I recently joined the ranks of the uninsured as even with Cobra health insurance would be way too expensive considering my successfully unemployed status! Thanks for the list.
Matt, great point. Susan Johnston brought that up as well over at Brazen Careerist. I didn’t know of that, thanks.
Adam, I agree, when I saw the prices of COBRA I realized it just wasn’t an option for me. Too expensive, not worth it when I’m young, healthy, and minimum risk. Luckily there is a three month grace period to enroll in COBRA, so you “sort of” have a backup if you get into an accident or something. Good luck!
Qvisory just launched a health insurance product in partnership with Aetna specifically to help young Americans get health coverage. It’s definitely worth checking out!
I like your layout. Have your web guy hit me up.
@ jrandom42
The best way is to find the cheapest medical insurance. I have currently been without any health insurance for over a year now and I do not want to risk that any longer! The is, of course, money. The insurance offered through my job is pretty good, that's include the dental.
@ jrandom42
The best way is to find the cheapest medical insurance. I have currently been without any health insurance for over a year now and I do not want to risk that any longer! The is, of course, money. The insurance offered through my job is pretty good, that's include the dental.
I guess it was very big deal if you don't have health insurance but Is it hard to get the health insurance?Is their and requirements?
I guess it was very big deal if you don't have health insurance but Is it hard to get the health insurance?Is their and requirements?
My sincere opinion is that I prefer to have a nice health insurance plan and give up on my high risk auto insurance. My health is more important and being healthy allows you to work and make money so you can pay the doctors if at some certain point you have to.
You can survive without insurance. Of course it's better to have one, but unless you're going to sky dive or race your car everyday, you can manage. There's a whole line of online drugs to fit your needs, and I don't think it's necessary to visit the doctors so often, because you can get paranoid.
Hey, found your site by accident doing a search on Google but I’ll definitely be coming back. – Wise men don’t need advice. Fools won’t take it. – Benjamin Franklin 1706 – 1790
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