Wellness

[NeNe1010]

My daughter recently decided that she would like to start working part time for maybe 2 years  (she is a Nurse) so she can spend more time with her 4 year old and 7 month old sons. She is not elligible for health insurance from her employer if she goes part time and her husband works for a small business owned by his parents and has no health insurance benefits.  She is trying to look for options for health insurance that dont cost a fortune. So far they found one which is $590.00 a month, covers catastropic events only and they can cancel them at any time. It is really sad when you cant afford to stay home with your young children because of health insurance worries. Does anyone here have private health insurance advoce or any suggestions for them? Thanks in advance.    

[NickNack]

If she waits until November 1 she could get Obamacare from HealthCare dot gov.  The premiums would be high, although she might be able to get help with that depending on their income, but they couldn't cancel her.  She might be able to get it now since she loses health insurance through her employer due to going part-time.  She would have to call them and talk with them about it.

[ALRATIBA]

Has she tried the ACA exchanges for her state?   The link is to an info site.

[Abrowneyegirl]

This is a TOUGH situation!  The only people who benefit from ObamaCare are the very poor.  Try to earn some money AND want health insurance you pay dearly.

When she shops she should compare the price with her part time income vs her not working at all.  It may not pay for her to work!    Sad.

[sueeich]

In all seriousness, I would personally stay far away from the state exchanges.  I think several of them have folded and yet another insurance company has said they are going to pull out of the exchanges because they can't make any money.  My twins had their well check up a couple of months ago and I was telling the office person that was checking me out that my health insurance (through a private employer) hadn't yet paid for anything this year because I still haven't met my deductible ($4,000/family for the year).  She told me that most of their clients at this pediatrician pay for all their medical expenses out of pocket because their deductibles are more like $10,000/year because they can only afford to purchase the health plans with high deductibles.  I have been hearing about cost-sharing health insurance which sounds interesting.  Maybe something to check into?

[bonnielu]

Bad situation all around.  No one should have to choose between caring for children and working full time for health care.  

Even as old as I am, I carried the health insurance for the family.. hubby was in a private business with outlandish health insurance costs.  I worked until retirement and still am the carrier.  Had I not done that, we would be in the same situation.  Our daughters are doing fine, it really did not impact them as much since my summers were off... school teacher benefit I guess.  

Not a fan of Obamacare because I know one of my daughters is struggling with it.  She cannot get needed medicine at fair costs and she needs it to keep alive, literally.  

[NeNe1010]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will pass this info along to her and hopefully we will figure something out.  

[SilleeMee]

I am 61, live alone and retired due to disability. I am not Medicare-qualified so I was forced into buying private health insurance. My income is not substantial enough to pay for it, however, and I applied for financial assistance (tax credit) available through my state health insurance exchange which is the Obamacare institution for health insurance here. Most states have some kind of option for getting coverage and if not go to Healthcare dot gov for more info.

These health insurance exchanges list insurance agents that can assist getting coverage and it's free. I can't stress enough how important this part is. Get an agent! 

Health insurance plans are ranked according to type of coverage and deductibles. These plans go by the name Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Each state has their own set of companies that provide these plans. 

Before deciding on a plan, make sure you have shopped around beforehand. 

[Retiredpsych]

Contact and agent for UnitedHealthCare.  They are the largest in the country, along with BlueCross/Shield.  They pulled out of ObamaCare because they were not getting paid. They advertise that they have affordable plans for everyone.  I have a UHC/Medicare Advantage Plan and it is great...it is an HMO.  If you can do HMO it is much cheaper.  A PPO will be very pricey.