We're Lucky We're Insured, But...
My partner sprung a bombshell on me last week. His health insurance, which covers himself and our son, would be jumping almost $200 a month for his part of the contribution; from around $450 to $630. He works for a small company (less than 30 employees), and apparently their insurance provider felt their company had too many claims over the past year so rates were going to be raised.
Now we have a dilemma. My company's insurance will cover domestic partnerships, so I could add both of them to my plan. My coverage costs are significantly less than his. However, my coverage also isn't as good. I have high co-pays, higher prescription costs, fewer in-network doctors, and most importantly, an extremely high co-pay for emergency visits ($200 for ER and $500 for a hospital stay, plus 10% of costs). His plan charged nothing when our son had an ER visit that turned in to a hospital admittance last year.
I know we are extremely lucky to not only be covered by insurance, but to have options when it comes to how we're being insured. However, we're still having to make the same types of decisions as those without insurance. Namely, how much of a gamble do we want to take with our health? If we're saving $300 a month on premiums, but then have a hospital stay, we'll lose. Then again, we've had 1 hospital stay in the past 8 years, so what is the likelihood of having another one in a short period of time? What about surgery? Mine charges 10% of costs for outpatient surgery. What is the going rate for an outpatient surgery? What about my partner's knee surgery he had earlier this year?
Then again, that $300/mo savings on premiums can buy a lot of groceries and gas, since those prices are also rising. And with a new baby on the way next year, we need to budget for childcare. That $300 would really help offset daycare costs.
I don't know what decision we're going to make. I think we both need to have a long discussion with our HR reps to determine the best course of action. I just know we have until the end of November (when "open season" ends) to finalize our decision.
An Original DC Metro Moms post
De can also be found on her personal site at A Spiced Life
