Simona Drentea on tue 30 dec 03
Hi,
I'm curious what those of you who aren't on your spouse's health insurance do
for health insurance? I am lucky enough to not have to work, so I am
starting my pottery business. I've had an individual health insurance plan for years
since my husband is a consultant & doesn't really have corporate health
insurance available. Over the last few years, my insurance has increased over
$1000/year each year. I just found out today the increase is even greater this
year. Does anyone have any creative solutions? Is there some sort of potters
group or consortium that I become a part of ?
Thanks,
Simona in Colorado
Kathi LeSueur on wed 31 dec 03
Rakurio@AOL.COM wrote:
>Hi,
>
>I'm curious what those of you who aren't on your spouse's health insurance do
>for health insurance? I am lucky enough to not have to work, so I am
>starting my pottery business. I've had an individual health insurance plan for years
>since my husband is a consultant & doesn't really have corporate health
>insurance available. Over the last few years, my insurance has increased over
>$1000/year each year. I just found out today the increase is even greater this
>year. Does anyone have any creative solutions? Is there some sort of potters
>group or consortium that I become a part of ?>>>
>
There is no such thing as affordable health insurance. It doesn't matter
how many people are in the group. Just one individual with a major
illness can wipe out all of the premiums paid by a significant number of
the group. That said, often the best route to insurance is thrugh your
Chamber of Commerce. They will usually have a group plan for businesses.
You join the Chamber, you are eligible for the group. In Michigan we
have the Michigan Business and Professional Assoc. As far as I can tell
their only real purpose is to write insurance. It isn't cheap, and the
policy we have isn't great (We have a $1000 deductible, $1000 co-pay and
no prescription). But we are insured. We can change the coverage once a
year. More in premiums buys more coverage.
Kathi
>
>
>
>
Arnold Howard on wed 31 dec 03
I heard recently that health insurance is now more affordable when purchased
individually than as part of a group.
Arnold Howard
From: "Kathi LeSueur"
> There is no such thing as affordable health insurance. It doesn't matter
> how many people are in the group. Just one individual with a major
> illness can wipe out all of the premiums paid by a significant number of
> the group. That said, often the best route to insurance is thrugh your
> Chamber of Commerce. They will usually have a group plan for businesses.
David Beumee on wed 31 dec 03
> >I'm curious what those of you who aren't on your spouse's health insurance
do
> >for health insurance?
My wife and I pay $294/month for a $2000 deductable plan from Anthem/Blue
Cross, and it's a BIG problem keeping up with the payments, but I just can't
see going without some sort of catastrophic health insurance. Her job as a
Directress with a Montessori school pays an extremely low hourly wage with no
benefits of any kind.
David Beumee
Earth Alchemy Pottery
Lafayette, CO
> Rakurio@AOL.COM wrote:
>
> >Hi,
> >
> >I'm curious what those of you who aren't on your spouse's health insurance do
> >for health insurance? I am lucky enough to not have to work, so I am
> >starting my pottery business. I've had an individual health insurance plan for
> years
> >since my husband is a consultant & doesn't really have corporate health
> >insurance available. Over the last few years, my insurance has increased over
> >$1000/year each year. I just found out today the increase is even greater this
> >year. Does anyone have any creative solutions? Is there some sort of potters
> >group or consortium that I become a part of ?>>>
> >
>
> There is no such thing as affordable health insurance. It doesn't matter
> how many people are in the group. Just one individual with a major
> illness can wipe out all of the premiums paid by a significant number of
> the group. That said, often the best route to insurance is thrugh your
> Chamber of Commerce. They will usually have a group plan for businesses.
> You join the Chamber, you are eligible for the group. In Michigan we
> have the Michigan Business and Professional Assoc. As far as I can tell
> their only real purpose is to write insurance. It isn't cheap, and the
> policy we have isn't great (We have a $1000 deductible, $1000 co-pay and
> no prescription). But we are insured. We can change the coverage once a
> year. More in premiums buys more coverage.
>
> Kathi
>
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Maurice Weitman on wed 31 dec 03
Rakurio@AOL.COM wrote:
>Over the last few years, my insurance has increased over
>$1000/year each year. I just found out today the increase is even
>greater this
>year. Does anyone have any creative solutions? Is there some sort of potters
>group or consortium that I become a part of ?>>>
At 8:08 AM -0500 on 12/31/03, Kathi LeSueur wrote:
>There is no such thing as affordable health insurance.
There is no such thing as affordable health CARE, unless you take
very good care of yourself.
Note: this may not apply as much to Canada or other more-enlightened societies.
I believe that you will find that ALL health insurance options,
plans, and carriers have increased their rates steadily and
significantly in each of the past several years.
We are lucky enough to be covered (sic) by my wife's plan; she's a
public school teacher. Nevertheless, our rates have increased an
average of 35% annually over the past three years. (We pay more than
half of the cost of the plan, and that proportion is also increasing;
in the "good old days" the district would pay for nearly all of the
premium.)
Barring some Big Change in the way the Feds think of health care,
this is not likely to change.
If you're young, have no kids, "no pre-existing conditions," in other
words, are not a risk to use more than a minimal amount of medical
services, you have a decent chance to get a decent rate. But then
again, you have little need for insurance. Get it? No free lunch;
you get what you pay for, etc.
Larger groups (10,000 employees, for example) are often self-insured;
their plans are administered by a third party, often an insurance
company, which takes no risk.
But mom and pop businesses and one-person-businesses have the worst
chance of having anything like a decent rate.
As Mel said recently, it'd be very difficult for a nationwide group
of potters to get anything together; there are too many differing
state laws and local medical groups that need to be considered and
negotiated with.
Stay healthy!
And a very, very happy and healthy new year to you all; thanks to
clayart, its mayor(s), mavens, and merry-makers for a great year.
Regards,
Maurice
Simona Drentea on wed 31 dec 03
<individually than as part of a group.
Arnold Howard >>
It actually has been for many years, but it's still expensive! My individual
cvg is being raised to $4443/year ( or $370/month), but my husband has access
to insurance for me through a group & it's over $400/month (though the
deductible is lower). And what's really sad, when I quit working 5+ years ago, I
didn't know any better, so I went on COBRA & extended the coverage I had (thru a
very large corporation) for over a year at a whopping $800+ month! To add
insult to it, then they try to get out of paying you for everything you use it
for. It's a nightmare, but still I am lucky that I can actually afford it.
Simona in Colorado
Simona Drentea on wed 31 dec 03
Thanks Kathi, I'll have to try again, someone else in OH told me about
something like this, but when I called our Chamber they were absolutely clueless &
acted like I was a nutcase. Maybe if I called up to Denver's Chamber of
Commerce, since that's a bigger city.
Thanks,
Simona
That said, often the best route to insurance is thrugh your
Chamber of Commerce. They will usually have a group plan for businesses.
You join the Chamber, you are eligible for the group. In Michigan we
have the Michigan Business and Professional Assoc. As far as I can tell
their only real purpose is to write insurance. It isn't cheap, and the
policy we have isn't great (We have a $1000 deductible, $1000 co-pay and
no prescription). But we are insured. We can change the coverage once a
year. More in premiums buys more coverage.
Kathi
Cindi Anderson on wed 31 dec 03
If you have great health, then individual insurance is usually less
expensive. This is because a group cannot exclude anyone or charge higher
premiums for someone with health problems, so they charge everyone more to
cover the sick ones. However, if you have anything wrong with you
(including simple things like allergies) then group policies are usually
less expensive.
For anyone with health problems, I would look into a 2 person group plan.
In many states a husband can hire a wife (or vice versa) and if they each
have their own plan that is 2 people and they can get a small group plan.
Costco has small group health plans in some states now and when I quoted it
it was very competitive.
Cindi
Fremont, CA
----- Original Message -----
> I heard recently that health insurance is now more affordable when
purchased
> individually than as part of a group.
Kathi LeSueur on thu 1 jan 04
arnoldhoward@ATT.NET wrote:
>I heard recently that health insurance is now more affordable when purchased
>individually than as part of a group.
>
>Arnold Howard
>
>From: "Kathi LeSueur"
>
>
>>There is no such thing as affordable health insurance. It doesn't matter
>>how many people are in the group. Just one individual with a major
>>illness can wipe out all of the premiums paid by a significant number of
>>the group. That said, often the best route to insurance is thrugh your
>>Chamber of Commerce. They will usually have a group plan for businesses.>>>>>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
This may be true but has one major draw back. When you are part of a
group you can't be cancelled or rates increased unless the whole group
is cancelled or has the same increase. There are numerous stories about
people who bought insurance at a better rate only to find themselves
cancelled when they got a major illness. Or the rates were increased so
dramatically that they couldn't afford them. This can vary from state to
state. Some states won't allow it. But others have such lax regulation
(you know that thing about deregulation being great for the
consumer--until the consumer gets screwed) that the insurance companies
can do anything they damn well please.
Kathi
Kathi LeSueur on thu 1 jan 04
>
> <<<> very good care of yourself.>>>>>
I've been a hospice volunteer for too long to believe this. Most of my
patients are people who took very good care of themselves. They ate
right. Were not overweight. Exercised regularily. The thing they are
most bitter about is that they took such good care of themselves and
still got ALS, pancreatic cancer, or some other terminal illness.
In the US we have health insurance. In Canada they have health care. The
difference is that all of the effort here is aimed at making a profit on
the money paid into the system and avoiding paying claims. While in
Canada the effort is to treat the illness. When the Clintons tried to
reform health care people screamed about not being able to choose their
own doctors ( how many of you can choose any doctor you want now?).
People screamed that in Canada people have to wait for treatment. (How
long do you have to wait to see that specialist, that is if your primary
care HMO doctor will give you a referral). In Canada ALL people get
treatment. They may not get it as fast as they want. And they may not
get it in as classy of offices and hospitals as here. But they do get
treatment.
Kathi
>
>
>
Tom Sawyer on thu 1 jan 04
As a physician that volunteers @ the Homeless Clinic in Orlando 2 days a
week where, I might add, we also take care of the underinsured, I will say "
THE SYSTEM IS BROKE". We have nearly 40,000 people a year moving into the
metropolitan [3 Tri-County Area]. Forty percent [40%] do not have health
insurance; folks that's 16,000 people a year moving into our community
without health insurance. Our response is to have cut budgets last year and
again this year and give tax breaks to the wealthy. Our clinic has a team
that goes into the woods to care for people "the Hope Team"; guess what we
have over 2,000 people that we have identified as living in the woods in the
Orlando Area - THE FRIGGING USA!!!! Tell me there is not a problem. Try
getting a hospital to admit a homeless person or a poor person that is
underinsured. Way way too much money in the health care industry. Physicians
make too much; hospitals make too much, hospital administrators make too
much, drug representatives make too much and drug companies way too much.
Drug companies tell us they need to make big profits and tax breaks for
investments so they can reinvest in research; nearly 30% of their budgets
are for advertising and they sell drugs on the foreign market cheaper than
at home where the taxpayers subsidize their "deductions for research and
marketing". Let me tell you how bad it is. Drug companies have started
subsidizing physicians to attend meeting. Some offer to pay a physician and
a "friend's" way to a meeting and then in addition to elaborate cocktail
parties and dinners they pay the physician for attending the meeting. Some
might say that smacks of bribery! No wonder were headed for "socialized
medicine". Well you get the idea - I'm moderate on this subject.
Tom Sawyer
tsawyer@cfl.rr.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Simona Drentea
Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2003 3:32 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Health insurance for potters (USA)
<purchased individually than as part of a group.
Arnold Howard >>
It actually has been for many years, but it's still expensive! My
individual cvg is being raised to $4443/year ( or $370/month), but my
husband has access to insurance for me through a group & it's over
$400/month (though the deductible is lower). And what's really sad, when I
quit working 5+ years ago, I didn't know any better, so I went on COBRA &
extended the coverage I had (thru a very large corporation) for over a year
at a whopping $800+ month! To add insult to it, then they try to get out of
paying you for everything you use it for. It's a nightmare, but still I am
lucky that I can actually afford it.
Simona in Colorado
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
| |
|
