Turdsday Chit Chat

We're supposed to have warmer temps today...all the way up to 24.  Of course, then the snow will start tonight, go into tomorrow and then the temps drop below 0 for the weekend.  Lovely.  Will have to scout out some places where we can take fthe dogs for a romp that don't include navigating through what was once a couple of feet of  light fluffy snow, now turned to concrete by the freezing rain and cold temps.  Sunday Sheba looked like a kangaroo trying to get through the snow.  She was game, but no one else was.

I'm tired today.  Guess after the past two days of getting wakened around 5 the body thought it was supposed to do the same today.  Never could go back to sleep.  Sigh.

Dang, I sure wish someone would hire me.  Double sigh.

I am officially a member of the working poor class.  By adding my DS to my health insurance, my bi-weekly premium is going up by 258%.  Yes, you read that right.  I knew it would go up a little, but am still in shock.  This is why mandated health care is going to kill us.  God forbid that the insurance companies not make a profit (and Blue Cross is a non-profit organization).  I haven't had a raise in 4 years, the cost of living has skyrocketed, and now I will be getting approx. $150 less per month in my paycheck.  I'm pondering dropping all of it and just paying the office calls when I have to go in (which, thankfully, I've been relatively healthy).  I don't know how I am going to survive otherwise.

But hey, it is 16 degrees here this morning.

Our nice weather is over for a few days.  A cold front is blowing in later and it's cloudy and supposed to get very windy later. 

Tina, that's insane. 

I've got to get some  bid packages ready and better get busy.  These are critical for our company and I don't want to rush it and make a mistake. 

Stay warm and safe.

Sorry about the health care woes, Tina.  Mine premium two years ago, just for me, tripled one year to the next.  It wasn't a lot of money since it was a high deductible plan, but seriously, 300% increase in one year?!  My employer has various levels, such as single, single + spouse, single + kids, and family.  At least that is a help to some folks since they aren't stuck paying family level care for single + one.  I think lately it has gotten to the point where companies are making it so that if your spouse has coverage, it's way way better to split and have separate plans which is annoying to keep all the details of each one straight, esp if they are different companies so you each have to have a different network of providers. 

I'm all for increasing availability of health care, but I agree that at least in the short term (and probably long-term since costs *never* decrease) it will dramatically increase costs as the health care companies panic.  And now all this hoopla over "facility fees" is nuts -- there have been several articles lately about how most of the larger practices here are in hospital-owned facilities, so not only do you get charged by the doctor, but also the hospital -- and many of the non-HMO plans aren't covering it.  Which is a laugh here since DH has UPMC insurance and goes to a UPMC doctor in a UPMC building and the UPMC insurance doesn't cover the UPMC hospital charge.  We see doctors in the same practice and my plan gets billed a totally different amount for a routine ill visit as his does (different plans). 

Ours is a high-deductible plan also - $5000.  I went from single to 2-person.  Our company is small - max of 1000 employees, of which only about 20% qualify for coverage.  We used to pay 20% of our premium and the company picked up 80%; now I am paying 30% instead.  When DS was on my policy as a minor, I paid $59/check with a $2000 deductible.  Now it will be $104/check with the higher deductible.  The insurance company and employer really pushes the Health Savings account (Flex spending), but if I am already having so much taken out for premiums, and then put money into HSA, what money am I left with for the mortgage and groceries??

I'm still trying to mentally process all of this and figure out what I should do.  Right now I feel like crying. 

Sigh.  I just did the paperwork to drop my coverage. $692 per month is just way more than we can afford.

IF we could get a handle on medical malpractice suits, all health care costs could go down.  We (as a people) seem not to be able to accept that sometimes stuff just happens, or that sometimes (gasp) it's our own darned fault, such as the woman in MI who sued the OB and everyone else she could think of because SHE turned down post natal care and advise from the hospital staff and nursing people and her baby became dehydrated.  Um, gee, the instant that child is born the OB becomes NOT it's doc, but shoot, lets sue him anyway since he delivered a perfectly healthy baby.  There are just soooo many frivilous law suits and malpractice companies often settle because its cheaper than defending, then rates for the insurance go up, then docs have to raise THEIR rates, then health insurance companies have to raise their rates and then we are all pretty well screwed.

JMHO, but people, take some responsiblity for your own lives and stop blaming the docs for everything.  Yep, there are some bad ones out there, but for the most part, they didn't spend all that time in med school so they could screw up.

(((((( Tina )))))

Deb W.

Wow Tina that's a lot for such a high deductible plan.  Right now, I pay something like $54/month for single coverage, HMO, no deductible.  I do have co-pays, but still.  DH just switched to an HMO from a high deductible plan and his is even cheaper than mine, maybe $30-40/month.  He has a smaller network though.  And his prescription is separate but required which is maybe $10/month.  We get paid monthly so all of our premiums are monthly. 

I hate to say it, but in that instance might be worth considering just paying out of pocket but as soon as something chronic would hit you would be in trouble.  At least having some coverage means your company negotiates the rates so your out of pocket expenses are less than they would be if you had no coverage.

Nicole, that is my dilemma.  I am 43, so my needs medically may change.  If I can legally drop my son again, I would still pay more than I am now, but less w/out him on the policy.  The kicker is that my DS actually has been sicker in his lifetime that I have, in part because he is a smoker (chronic bronchitis).  I have a PPO plan.

Glenda, aren't you paying COBRA rates?

It's not just malpractice that caused this problem within our health care system, IMO.

Well, today my alarm went off and I thought I am still so tired... not like me.  Then I did my morning stuff in the bathroom, went to the kitchen and it was only 4:00 instead of 5:00.  I have no idea why that happened but then I was wide awake :) 

It was 32 and snowing at 4:00, by the time I left at 7:30, we had 2 inches and it was 24 degrees.  They are telling us that we should get at least an inch an hour for the next 5 or 6 hours.  I know those of you up north are laughing right now but for us that is alot of snow.  All the schools are closed but not us of course.  We have so many rural roads and hills and "hollers" that they just dont take the busses out in this mess.  Hubby wanted me to stay home but I knew everyone else would try to make it in and that just wouldnt be fair now would it :)  The boys went out to play when I got up and they had a ball, they love the snow.

((Tina)) I know this is why my daughter doesnt have insurance on her.  They cant afford to not have it on her hubby but the cost of a second person it just not possible.  They both work for the same company and the insurance is so costly.  Once they have been there 5 years the company will pay the premium for them.  She is very close to 5 years so she is just hoping she can make it til then.  Our company has awesome insurance, we are a member of an organization for rural telephone companies.  This is why we can have such an awesome group policy.  

Stay warm and stay safe! 

 ((Tina)) I will do my best to not jump on my healthcare/insurance co/pharma. soapbox.  I will say that my husband works for the state but to add me to his care is more expensive than buying my own.  So I pay $400/mo with $5000 deductible, I get an annual, a mam, and see the allergist once a year and pray everything is fine.  My premium went from $250 to $300 to $337 to $400. It is the main reason I am looking at salaried positions.  Presumably it is easier or cheaper for you son to be on your plan - add it to his monthly 'rent'

My sister is doing just about everything wrong with the vizsla pup - she is going to be one frustrated lady down the road, sigh. She just went on for over an hour on the phone, whatever.

A short brag on Bugsy - some days he makes me so proud.  Today some shih tzu was out aggravating everyone, we approached an area and every dog was barking madly, at first I didn't know why than I saw the nuisance. It decided to angrily charge Bugsy who up until it got about 5 feet away didn't even look at it - he was busy sniffing.  Finally it did a lunge and yap yap and he looked up tail wagging like quiet down little one and he went back to sniffing.  The dumb dog kept at him so he went to sniff it and it took off - his brain clearly changed to "rabbit" chase it! But I was able to divert him and we went back to walking with the dumb dog following and yapping the whole time.

Then as we passed the house with the grumpy, intact GSD, it decided to charge us, complete with those nervous tongue flicks, but B was calm and tail wagged.  The GSD was growling and trying to do his head over B's shoulder thing when the owner (7 mos pregnant) came and got him.  B then went over and pissed on their mailbox which made me and the GSD's owner laugh.  Another neighbor was out running and saw it all. We caught them up afterward and she was laughing but saying whew thank goodness Bugsy is a sweetheart that could have been ugly.

True dat.

So that has been my wasted morning in a nutshell

Just one more day 'til Friday!

(((TINA))) We have a $5000 deductible too for our family - I work for one of the Big Three!  To put it in perspective, with all of Riley's doctor's stuff this past year and my surgery, I never hit the deductible so I paid for everything out of pocket.  We did get the benefit of negotiated rates through the insurance companies so that helped.  But still.  The company does give us $1000 to put in our HSA at the beginning of the year and I contribute another $200 a month (pre-tax).  It kills us.  The nice thing is that it is pre-tax so it's really not a $200 difference in my paycheck.  Ours is through Bank of America HSA program.  Even something like a $20/month contribution can build and you might not notice it too much (although I know every dollar counts) and it would let you build a little cushion to help cover the deductible.  We used every last dollar in our last year plus mroe out of pocket so I am hoping this year will be better...sigh

kpwlee

Presumably it is easier or cheaper for you son to be on your plan - add it to his monthly 'rent'

He is w/out insurance otherwise because he has no job and I cannot afford even a simple emergency plan for him. 

Lisa, I think what scares me about the flex spending is not using it before year's end and losing it.  My pap and mamm is covered 100% and the only other thing I have is 2 med reviews per year.  My rx is currently $10/mo or less.  Last year I had a whopping $139.62 in medical expenses, not counting the rx.  I don't eat out, my heat stays at 62 degrees, don't have internet at home, etc., so it's not as if I have frivolous expenses.

I dunno...

On a funny note, I sent out a training roster for some of our store managers to review.  One replied that 2 of his managers were "no longer with us."  Then he followed it with "they aren't dead, they just don't work for us any more."  I needed that chuckle.

Tina - that's the nice thing about the HSA, you don't have to use it up before the end of the year.   and when you retire you can use it for whatever you want - kind of like a retirement savings plan.  It's not like the flex spending accounts where you lose it if you don't use it.  I don't like those.