No Health Insrance- What Do You Do?

And THIS is exactly why health care should not be tied to employment!

I would look into Urgent Care & Med Express type places if you need to see a doctor.

There are private plans with higher deductibles and such but at least if something (God forbid) catastrophic happens, your hospitalization will be mostly covered.

TRY to set something aside each week ($5-20) to save for those unexpected sinus infections, UTI's, etc that can be treated at urgent care. They won't do anything until they tell you exactly what it's going to cost you!

http://cms.oregon.gov/oha/healthplan/Pages/index.aspx

Other resources:

http://referweb.ne/info/Subcategory.aspx?;;0;;;0;172987;*...

Good luck!

Personally I would find a way to afford the $1,100 a month unless you know this bout of unemployment will be very short lived. Seriously I don't know how anyone can afford to be without insurance.

You could try to see if an individual policy will be any cheaper, but I learned the hard way that they are VERY selective in th people they write coverage for so that may not be an opition if you have any ailment that you take regular maintenance drugs for.

There are some jobs that will give you benefits for less than a 40 hour work week. You'd have to weigh it out whether it would be cheaper to go this route than unemployment because it will probably mean losing your unemployment compensation but it could still give you the flexibility to interview.

Does the state lottery have an exclusion if you lost your job? Check on that.

Finally have you had a long term relationship with your doctor? When my husband was out of work and we were without coverage he actually did see us for free. There still are a few good doctors out there and I count my blessings everyday!

Until you can get on affordable health insurance, if you do get sick or hurt, go to an Urgent Care facility or free health clinics in your area. They are more affordable then ER visits, and often come with financial package to help you pay off your fees.

My husband, son, and I had no health insurance for a period of two years. Luckily , we remained healthy, however, I would pay out of pocket for my son's visits to his pediatrician and dentist. We saved money into a savings medical plan in case we needed to go to the doctors. At least we would have some money to pay off the bills. Also, when I had colds I would stock up on Vitamin C, Echinacea, Green Tea and other herbal remedies Take Vitamins. Also, be more cautious when you drive, walk , etc. Anything to avoid an accident. I was very conscious with things like that. Every little bit helps!

good luck!

Go to a clinic. Sometimes they have set fees or go on a sliding scale.

I found low income clinics in my area. They offer doc appointments for $20. BUT if you have blood work drawn it's another $20, if you have an x-ray it's another $20. Each service is $20 and that can add up.

Call your local hospitals and ask for the social servies office. Talk to them about free clinics or low income clinics. Ours is below our income levels or I would go to it.

Otherwise you can just go to the ER like the rest of who have no insurance do. I cannot pay the bill, ever, so they end up writing it off. I don't like it but can do nothing different until health care changes and it's free to everyone. That's not going to happen in my life time.....

We're going through the same thing right now. I have a business and we're trying to get private insurance, but they are denying me coverage because I have sleep apnea. Otherwise I'm in great health, not overweight or unhealthy and just happen to have this darn genetic apnea issue. So, they won't cover me at all. While we have been trying to find something that will work for our whole family, we did find out that there is something called "Accident Insurance" that I do qualify for. That is simply insurance up to about $10,000 or so to cover you if you break something or get in a car accident. If nothing else, I'll get that so I can have peace of mind. It's very inexpensive.

It's frightening for me to not have insurance, since this is the first time in my life that I haven't had it. It's even more frustrating that I can't get it at this point in my life. I'm too young to worry about my medical future without any coverage. I might feel differently if I was a couple years away from Medicare or something. I also am annoyed because I paid into the system for years and they gladly took my money while I was healthy, then they deny me coverage when I use it at all. Fantastic. ;) This is why we need universal healthcare in the US.

You should have been looking into this before today - you can get individual health insurance plans that will cover you for much less than the COBRA that you have been offered. Call Blue Cross Blue Shield TODAY. I used the Portland zip code (health insurance is done by zip code) 97212 since I found that online and obviously don't know yours. Indivdual health insurance plans are purchased monthly but usually have discounts if you buy a 6 or 12 month plan. Using that zip code I found BCBS plans starting at $63/month!! You are a teacher so you ought to be able to read the plans and figure out which one might work best for you. Oh, and I don't work for BCBS but knew that they are nationwide and I've never lived west of Texas. Yes, the $63/month has a 10K deductible - but routine office visits are not included in that deductible!!! Also, preventive medical care is also excluded from the deductible.

Call BCBS today - or another insurer because if you have coverage today - then you will not be "dinged" for any pre-existing condition as you will not have lapsed overage!!!! Get a move on!

C.

I think you don't really have a choice to go uninsured right now. I know it's scary, but you have to pay your rent and feed you & your child first. Doctors usually offer services to patients who pay cash, at a lower price. My general practitioner charges $70 for a visit for cash-paying patients. You can get generic prescriptions for pretty low cost, often lower than insurance copays. If something tragic happens, there are state hospitals that will treat you with reduced, income-based bills (lots of paperwork to fill out to enroll, but it's helpful). There are charities who will help out for bills you can't make. We have a local mission here in my city that actually offers certain diagnostic scans and such for free to the community, to save costs there.

There's help out there. You will get through this. Don't borrow trouble from tomorrow, you have plenty to worry about today. I will pray you find a good position soon!

Put together a list of clinics to pick from. We have insurance but it is terrible so sometimes if I need urgent care I will go to a walk in clinic and pay the $75 out of pockets rather than cough up $300 of coinsurance and deductible for a urgent care visit with our in-network doctor.
Here we also have "membership" insurance: you pay a fixed monthly fee and get basic care for that. Here in Seattle we have qliance - you might find something similar where you live...
Good luck.

You can get health insurance for way less than that, you may have to pay a higher co pay and deductibles, but at least you will be covered if a catastrophe happens. Maybe you could get a job other than teacheing for now, somewhere like walmart, who has good benefits, and continue doing tutoring for now.

You should have enough money saved up to pay for a doctor's appt if it becomes absolutely necessary. If you've had the same doctor for a number of years, I'm sure they will would out a payment plan with you.

In an emergency situation, a hospital cannot refuse to treat you. You can work out a payment plan with them.