michmel

Hi there all,
I've not posted on here for a good while. Well, we are in a quandry, our long term plan is to return to the UK because we just don't really feel secure here at all and it's a hurdle I can't seem to live with.

We are here with green cards (won from the green card diversity, my hubby is turkish so we could qualify), we own our own business which gives us a living. BUT our health insurance costs us $1000 per month. I have a pre-existing condition which isn't covered and we still have to pay out of pockets expenses for health and for dental care.

I just can't seem to find a decent health care plan (for self employed), that covers 100%.

We are happy with lots of things here but this is one thing that really seems to make me feel insecure here (I've got 2 kids) and we plan to have 1 more.

Is there anybody out there who feels similiar?? or am I just a strange one for just worrying about this one thing so much.

p.s. does anybody out there believe that Obama will remedy the failed healthcare over here.

Rete

You are far from alone with your fear. At least you have the option of moving back to a country with national healthcare. We Americans don't have that option.

You are not going to find health insurance that will cover 100% privately. At least not without a premium that will leave you living on food stamps. I am surprised that your health insurance does not cover your pre-existing condition. Thought they did after you have been on the plan for x number of months.

michmel

We changed plans this year, so had to start again, so have to wait another 10 months till my pre-existing is covered.

Since living here I have come to realise how much of a hard time you Americans have had over the years with the failing health system. I really do hope Obama finally fixes it. IF, we don't get something positive from him on this, then we'll definately have to move back to the UK over the next couple of years because it's one thing that leaves me in fear and makes me feel very unsettled, apart from that the USA is a great place!

Manc

No.

penguinsix

There is a better change of cold fusion powered automobiles than there is a wholescale revolution in health care. Do not expect anything beyond a few 'tweaks on the edges' for the next few years. It's a massively complicated system that simply can't be thrown out and rebuilt overnight.

Seriously--don't plan on Obama's health care reform being a saving grace to your stay here. It will be a good year or two before it is passed, another year for regulations to kick in, a year or two for lawsuits to go through, and then maybe some implementation that you will actually notice.

As for your current situation where you're paying $1000 a month. Is that through your own business or are you buying direct? You might want to have the company shop around for some different plans such that it offers a buffet of options. You can also check http://ehealthinsurance.com for some other rates. It might be more cost efficient if the business was to pay for the insurance in full, take some tax deductions as a business expense rather than pay you a salary and then you pay for the insurance. You might want to talk to your accountant to see if there is a way to structure it to save some money.

Good luck.

Duncan Roberts

Unfortunately nothing has changed since I've lived here so you should have been aware what was going to happen and roughly how much it would cost before you moved here. I assume you researched it in depth before moving over, especially with children and a pre-existing condition, so you should have been prepared and expecting what you got. And to say it's failed is a little harsh. It's not ideal, but it's far from being a failure.

Mummy in the foothills

It's always been that way here for us too.
We've been un insured and under insured for the last 20 years, now Dh and I are older (past 40) he changed jobs to get us better insurance and finally we have it. But one major health crisis in the family could put us under. It's my biggest beef with living here.
Dh can't change jobs (the one he has is mind numbing and he is bored to death) but I have pre existing conditions that mean we wouldn't qualify for insurance if we tried to buy it ourselves again.
Also if you buy it yourself once you hit 40 the price gets ridiculous, mine shot up and we had to increase our deductible to $5000 just to afford the premiums, we spent more than 20% of our gross income on premiums deductibles and co-pays and paying our share that year.
I'm ready to move back, Dh isn't quite there yet, he wants to be vested in his retirement at work first (teamsters) but I feel if the older kids move back (both have said they are going) then he'll be on the plane in no time.

I do have to say in the late 80's we had no insurance and yet had no problem paying for doctor visits out of pocket, it was a whole lot cheaper to see the doc back then.

michmel

Yes, we did research. I am sure most would agree that there's only so much you can research from afar. Health care being one of them, that's difficult to fathom out. I'm still learning (and we've been here 4 1/2 years now). Also, most of my American friends are the first to say the health system is a failure here, because it's failed the people. It's hardly fair is it???

michmel

Thanks for your insight mummy in the foothills, that's very interesting and good to know that we are one in a huge amount of expats who are struggling to accept the health system here in the US of A. Let's hope they sort it out for everybody. I don't think we'll be prepared to wait around for that long to happen though and planning to head back over the next few years.

kins

My husband has a job with a group health insurance plan and we still pay $1000 a month for a family of five - the company subsidises his premium 90% and ours not at all.

Our deductible just went up too, although our copays went down slightly.

Can you get a job yourself that has health insurance? Wouldn't it be worth trying that before you go back to the UK with all the cost and hassle that entails?

I am seriously looking into retraining to work in the school system - the state of Maine pays the full premium for teachers' and school counsellors' health insurance ($15k a year for a family).

michmel

wow, that's a large amount for your health insurance seeing as it's a group one.

I don't have the opportunity to retrain as I have my own business with my husband and it would mean me employing somebody else to do my job so that I can work somewhere else, which I wouldn't be happy to do as I like what I am doing and like being my own boss. I've always run my own small business and at my time of life would find it hard working for somebody else now after working for myself for 15 years here and in the UK.

Also, in Florida the education system isnt' so generous to it's employees, well that's what I've heard.
Good luck with your retraining. Worth it if you want to go into education.

md95065

The HIPAA requirement that plans waive the "waiting period" for pre-existing conditions if you have sufficient qualifying coverage immediately prior to joining the plan only applies to group plans, not personal insurance plans.

Mummy in the foothills

I was very surprised to find people from UK (and other places) that have looked into US medical insurance and thought they knew how much it cost and what it covers, only to find that they knew nothing and were totally confused by the premium/deductible/co pay part of it all. Plus all the in network/out of network rules. I think I should have taken a course in how to decipher it all before sining up, I have good insurance but still really don't understand our coverage.
I end up calling the plan to ask mundane questions, make sure there isn't pre authorization needed etc. Even they can never tell me how much my share will be when something isn't covered 100%

Somehow I doubt Obama and all his good intentions will have any impact on how it all works, it's too big a tangled mess.

snowbunny

And it keeps getting worse....

I could move to the Netherlands with my husband, but I'd have to leave my kids behind. Not to mention that he really likes Texas and is eligible for citizenship next month!

meauxna

Just have to pipe in and tell you.. all of this is a shock to plenty of US born n' reared people too! It wasn't always like this.. like Mummy noted, it didn't used to be *such* a bad thing to be without insurance, and such a hassle to get/have. I am equally baffled at times, and I've been an employer buying and doling out good health ins. bennies over the years. It's a scandal, but keep an eye on Senator Ron Wyden & his Healthy Americans Act.. it looks like he is getting a lot of positive buzz and it might get somewhere.