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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHelp finding an insurance plan for my wife.
Okay:
My wife's company only offers insurance to people with 40 hours a week. (It is almost impossible for her to get 40 hours.) She and I make a combined $28,000 and my company offers insurance for me alone $200 a PAYCHECK so about $400 a month. IF I placed my wife on my insurance I wouldn't bring home a pay check. I want to find a plan for my wife but we need something that isn't going to be another $200.00 a pay. We make too much to qualify for state medical assistance ALSO my wife had a bad case of Pneumonia (which I won't get into all the details) it nearly killed her twice and as a result made her immune system weak and well, at another job my wife had insurance (after her illness) she got Pneumonia again and went to see a lung doctor who healed her from the first round of pneumonia He gave her inhalers breathing treatments and some stronger antibiotics as well as a medication to keep her lungs strong.
The insurance basically said Pneumonia was a pre-existing condictionb and wouldn't cover her visit or the medicine. SO I need a plan that will cover future pneumonia illnesses she might get.
I am also hoping to cover eye exams as well but not a must.
How do I find insurance? Also is there low income policies?
Fridays Child
(23,998 posts)diabeticman
(3,121 posts)ForgoTheConsequence
(4,868 posts)?
diabeticman
(3,121 posts)MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)I'm not sure of the specifics of what kicks in when, but it should make it easy to buy insurance and subsidize you guys. Someone on DU should know.
Or you could move to Mass, where we already have ObamaCare (it was called RomneyCare when we got it). Actually, you'd likely qualify for free insurance through our state's MassHealth program, which gives you a choice of plans from different insurers, and pretty much all docs accept it. But I know that Mass is an exception when it comes to these types of things, unfortunately.
I'm really, really sorry that you need to deal with this nonsense. The US has become such an uncivil place.
I think it will get better.
Katashi_itto
(10,175 posts)We are a video/film production company, we use this, we have tons of independent contractors:
http://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/liability/?module=insurance
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)I'll see your Threepenny Opera and raise you a Thin White Mahagonny Duke:
(Did you produce that video? It's neat.)
Fridays Child
(23,998 posts)JaneyVee
(19,877 posts)Ms. Toad
(34,072 posts)Until the sequester there were pre-existing condition pools your wife could have gotten into. Unfortunately, the sequester cut off new enrollments in the policies in order to make sure they had enough money to cover all of those already enrolled. That is the big reason we have needed health care reform - anyone who has any kind of pre-existing condition cannot find coverage at all (or cannot find it at a reasonable cost). Come 2014, more people will be in the pool and insurance companies can't deny coverage for pre-existing conditions - which means coverage will be available and at a lower cost (the max for a family in California - the only place rates have been announced - is $364/month - and as low as $17 for a single low income person).
There are short term policies that are quite cheap, but they won't cover pre-existing conditions. They will cover other things (subject to deductibles and co-pays. So that will cut down expenses for all other things. Do a search for short term insurance.
You can try applying to the drug manufactures - many offer compassionate care, or discount cards. Physicians sometimes can be generous with samples.
Hospitals also generally have to offer some charity care, tpically income based.
Finally - if all else fails - try to negotiate with each care provider to get the insurance company rate. That will typically be around 90% for doctors, 60% for hospitalization, and 5-10% for labwork. (I don't know the rough proportion for medicine, since I never see the billed rate for drugs - only the discounted rate.)