matters of health and wealth

Shopping for medical insurance for the family may incite violent and uncontrolled rages. I haven't cracked yet, but I'm starting to feel the pressure. The clock is ticking away and I have little time left before Z-Jay arrives and I need to have health coverage arranged for the family.

I have insurance for myself through my employer. They pay the entire premium and it's decent coverage. Actually, I don't really know if it is, because I've had it for two years and have only had to use it once. It could suck for all I know. This leads me into the reason why I don't have the entire family enrolled. It all has to do with cost. Those greedy f%#kers at the insurance company want $1,136 per month out of my paycheck to enroll HotMomma, Z-Dub and Z-Jay. That SUCKS! It's the cost of a frickin' mortgage. It's robbery!!!!

Because of the high cost of insurance through my employer, Z-Dub and HotMomma have been enrolled in the health care plan at her work. The coverage isn't quite as good as mine, but it's much, much, much less expensive. We're talking less than quarter of what it would be on my plan. But now we have a problem. When Z-Jay is born HotMomma will go on maternity leave and her insurance will go COBRA, meaning we have to pay 100 percent of the premium to insure all three of them. That's almost $900 per month. Again, robbery!!!

Additionally, after Z-Jay is born HotMomma is considering taking a voluntary furlough for up to three years so she can stay home with the kids. That means I need to find an affordable and acceptable insurance plan to cover all three of them. I've been doing my research and I'm getting close to finding something that'll work and not break the bank.

The first plan is a standard POS plan with a $1,000 individual deductable ($3,000 for family) for roughly $450 per month. It only covers 80 percent of medical costs with the deductable waived for preventative care. The second is a HSA plan with a $5,000 family deductable for $220 per month with preventative care covered at 100 percent.

I had an HSA plan through my previous employer and it was awesome, so I'm leaning towards it. It also gives you control of your money, because instead of paying a high premium you get a low premium and you put additional pre-tax money into a health savings account to cover medical expenses. Any unused money you get to keep. It puts you in control of your money instead of the insurance company stealing it.

I haven't completely made of my mind yet on which I'll choose. I'm doing budget research to see what will work better for us. The good news is that if HotMomma decides to take the furlough Z-Dub won't be sent to daycare/preschool anymore, which will make up for the cost of having to pay for the insurance.

This isn't a political site and I don't generally write about political issues, but something finally needs to be done about medical insurance and costs in this country. We've gone way too long with promises that aren't kept.

I'm not at all satisfied with either presidential candidate's healthcare proposals. Hopefully the ultimate winner will prove me wrong and actually make some real changes.