health care

[glowbelly]

how many of you are insured?

i'm not and i'm pregnant. i've looked into every single possible option, and my best one is to cut down the hours i am working at my job so i can qualify for welfare. in doing so, i will not be able to marry my baby's father and cannot save as much money as i wanted to for after the baby is born.

here's my dilemma:

i haven't been insured since i lost my job in may of 2003. i was offered continuation benefits through cobra, but had no way to pay for them. i considered getting an individual policy, but again, had a problem with the money. i enrolled in school and failed to realize that they had insurance available. i was going to apply for the student insurance in the summer ('04), but was told that i couldn't because i wasn't enrolled for that semester...i would have to wait until the fall semester, which starts on august 28. i found out i was pregnant about 2 weeks ago, and now the school insurance is calling my pregnancy pre-existing. fine.

i started a job with a temp agency working for a company. they have 3 months to try me out before they can decide to hire me full time. i'm not even sure if their health insurance includes maternity benefits. if it doesn't, i'm back to square one. then again, if it does, they can't hire me on full time until december. *sigh*

i looked into open enrollment. haha. $1,144.85 A MONTH. yeah right.

so now my only choice is to cut back on my hours here at this job or find another job that pays me less, so i can go on welfare. i won't be able to marry brian, because then we'll have too much income for one family (even though the only option i have for insurance would eat up almost his entire income for the month). it's insanity. true, true insanity. and it makes me really, super sad.

and don't anyone give me any shit about how i should have thought about this before i got knocked up. i'm well aware that this is not planned well, and i've come to terms with it, so STUFF IT.

[The One and Only...]

Can the Dad get insurance for you through his job? Maybe some sort of family plan?

[Anonymous]

USA! USA!

[glowbelly]

negative on the insurance from the daddy. he works for a very small company as a landscaper (only one 2 man crew) and his boss doesn't offer insurance as, guess what?

IT'S TOO FRIGGIN EXPENSIVE TO DO SO

[Cosmo Electrolux]

Some hospitals will work with you if you're uninsured. You can set up a payment plan with very low or no interest. You'll be paying for 40 years, but you're little one will get proper care.

[Anonymous]

And he'll even learn to use contractions correctly.

[glowbelly]

i sure hope so. i'm not looking forward to those. :o

[AChimp]

Come to Canada to have the baby. Pretend like you were on vacation and then you "suddenly" went into labour. You will get into a hospital right away.

Since you aren't Canadian, you will have to pay, BUT you can go to the newspapers and say that you are a poor American without health insurance and this was the only way to prevent your baby being born in a bathroom stall at Wal-Mart. Hundreds of people will step forward to donate money and toys. ;)

[FS]

Oh! And remember to have Chojin photoshop your first baby pictures so it looks like you had octuplets. Then spread around the picture for free baby products.

[Pub Lover]

Why doesn't she just marry you, Chimp. Then she'd *be* Canadian. :blah

[ziggytrix]

You probably know better than anyone here Glo, unless someone else has researched this... but you mentioned a midwife in another thread - she'd probably be your best resource for this kind of info.

Having no insurance sucks, but what can you do besides moving to a country where basic healthcare is considered a right, not a priviledge? :(

[glowbelly]

oh yeah, zigs. i know what i gotta do. this thread was more of a bitch off and a question to everyone else out there about who is insured and who isn't.

i didn't think this could happen, but i guess i was a bit naive. i'm not too stressed about it. we will be far from poor because bri's paycheck covers all the bills. we just aren't going to be able to save as much as i would have liked to by march.

and you can bet i'll be writing my congressperson about this.

[AChimp]

Don't Americans have baby showers, too? You just have to invite lots of people so you can get more stuff to sell later. :)

[Royal Tenenbaum]

LOL, being poor in the States sucks ass. I can't believe this is what it's actually like. How could someone actually continue to stay in such a shitty country? I agree with Chimp and his theory. Come to Canada and have the kid, and then complain to the newspapers. It'll work like a charm.

[Anonymous]

Why aren't you using the avatar I made for you?

[Preechr]

When you said open enrollment, were you talking about in new private healthcare? COBRA is extendable for up to 18 months, and I heard a rumor that you could opt out until you needed it then opt back in paying up the premiums... That might be even more expensive than just paying for everything out of pocket, but my worry would be that some babies can be much more expensive to deliver than others, and you don't get to pick... I guess that option's viability would depend on how pregant you are, though.

You should probably be planning on the most expensive scenario and consider EVERY possible alternative, protecting yourself as much as possible. My sister was in a similar situation, living in Indiana (likely similar to your state in terms of social safety nets,) and she moved down here to Georgia, which is about the best place to be if your pregnant and broke. Throughout your life you'll likely have many jobs. Having a healthy kid is something you won't get a chance to do over.

Our system is as it is. There's just no point in risking lives over making a point about it. It should be changed, of course, but that's not to happen in time to do you any good. If Ohio isn't right for you, vote with your feet and protect your family.

[FS]

Someone get Protoclown in here to make a GI Joe reference. >:

[AChimp]

THATS IT!

Have some G.I. Joes deliver your baby. They are always willing to help out wherever they are needed. :)

[Royal Tenenbaum]

Why aren't you using the avatar I made for you?

I forgot about it. :(


Personally I would check into the hospital with fake information and just hope that I get out of there before they catch on to my fraud.

[hawaiian mage]

While were on the topic, I had a quick question pertaining to this that I've never quite understood..

So I hear about these stories of people being turned away from hospitals becuase they don't have insurance. Do you actually NEED insurance to get treatment at a hospital? Meaning that you can't just pay for it yourself? Give them the money for medication right there. Write a check or give them a credit card. Get a loan at the bank and deal with the bankruptcy later. Any thing like that. Are you not allowed to just spend your own money at the time an accident occures or something?

[kahljorn]

No offense, but if y ou can't afford insurance, how are you going to be able to afford insurance for the baby, and baby food, and highchair's and toys? That shit gets expensive.

[EisigerBiskuit]

I'm pretty sure I'm ensured. If not, then I would probobably be dead by now after the whole misquito/snake accident.

[Anonymous]

Especially highchair insurance. It's bad enough if you're a lifeguard.

[glowbelly]

i can afford health insurance, kahl...it's just that right now, nobody will insure me because i have a pre-existing condition.

$1,144.85 a month, however, is out of the question...and that's the only policy that i can buy that will cover the delivery.

the point i was trying to make is that according to almost everyone i have talked to, i am better off making less money right now so i can get on this healthy start program. it makes no sense to me whatsoever that there isn't some kind of program that lets you pay into your own insurance. i can afford up to about $250 a month. for an individual policy, that's kind of high, but like i said, pregnancy = pre-existing when it comes to individual policies.

[kahljorn]

fuck that pre-existing bullshit :( That's what medi-cal did to me, i filled out all the forms while i was in the hospitol, and the social worker was supposed to finish the rest up with my grandma while i was in ECS, but he NEVER CALLED HER. She even left messages, still no calling! So now I have a 10,000 dollar medical bill, which I'll never pay. Ever. Seriously, I'm not paying that shit.

[Daphne]

Come to Canada to have the baby. Pretend like you were on vacation and then you "suddenly" went into labour. You will get into a hospital right away.

Since you aren't Canadian, you will have to pay, BUT you can go to the newspapers and say that you are a poor American without health insurance and this was the only way to prevent your baby being born in a bathroom stall at Wal-Mart. Hundreds of people will step forward to donate money and toys. ;)

Actually, in Ontario (not sure about anywhere else) the midwives coalition has money set aside for people who come here from other countries and can't afford to have babies in hospitals. My friend used a midwife, and she was telling me about it :)

[davinxtk]

I've only had health insurance for two years out of my entire life, and it was MassHealth. I was 14, 15, and I still didn't go to the doctor, and it's almost impossible to find a dentist that takes MassHealth, so I didn't go.


Medicine is for the weak and timid. Boil some water and get lots of towels.





(P.S. Really, good luck. I don't have anything helpful to suggest. :()

[El Blanco]

I don't know about maternity benefits, but New York State fully insures everyone under 18.

[kahljorn]

yea, california does under 21. I bet you could get on some sort of welfare insurance, since you're pregnant and all. But i think that's what she was talking about when she said her income has to be a certan amount ;D

[El Blanco]

NYS is any child without healthcarte is automatically covered. Doesn't matter about parents' income. At least, thats the way I understand it.

[Anonymous]

Okay, but glowbelly is well into her 20s.

[punkgrrrlie10]

No free clinics near you? I would call them and see what they can do. They always give good recommendations even if they can't help you.

[punkgrrrlie10]

and planned parenthood.

[Vibecrewangel]

I'll just give you hugs ::hugs::

[The_Rorschach]

I've nothing to offer financially or informationally, but my thoughts and prayers will be with you Belly.

How sad you have to endure what should be such a beautiful experience through such arduous circumstances. Yet in the time I have known you, I've come to the conclusion you are both very clever and extremely resourceful, I've little doubt you will find a way to resolve this situation to your satisfaction.

If not, perhaps we can convince Carni to steal an ambulance, retrieve and then deliver you to a Mass. Hospital under an assumed name thereafter whisking you away once labour is concluded. . . .

Well, maybe if life were a sitcom anyway.

[Miss Modular]

I'm currently temping at a Hospital, and this morning, I posted Glowbelly's question on our Values Board.

The women suggested that you see a doctor and ask him/her about charity care. You'd have to pay it back slowly. Some hospitals offer financial aid, so you might want to look into that, too. If you lived in New York, it would be a lot easier to help you.

Now, seriously, folks...

How many of us are waiting for Vince Zeb to storm in here, and tell Glowbelly what an irresponsible slut she is, and then make some kind of misogynist joke? ;)

My thoughts are with you, Karen.

[glowbelly]

thanks to everyone who replied with advice, but i have it pretty much covered now. i'm going the healthy start (state aid) route until this company decides to hire me full time...which may be never.

i really started this thread to hear other people's experiences about obtaining or not having health insurance.

you all really need not worry about me giving birth under a bridge. it will not happen. :)