Well, recently I was informed by the company that my husband works for that not only was he going to get his wages cut 5% he was not going to be able to have the insurance we have had for the last 5 years.  We got the notice about the 2nd week of November that the company would not be able to re-up the contract with the current health insurance company and there would be big changes.  That we would not be insured as of December 1.  The only insurance they would be able to offer would have a $1300.00 deductible each.

I panicked.  I have a chronic illness that is controlled by medication but I don’t spend $1300.00 in a year.  This is ridiculous.  And you would have to still pay a monthly premium payment also.

I don’t get why the government is not addressing the real problem with health insurance.  Their CEO’s are sitting in their high-rise offices getting richer and fatter and we are struggling to survive.   I think that if we all got together and just didn’t get insurance at all… then what would happen to them?

Since my illness hit me about 5 years ago I lost my job and my insurance with my company.  I went on disability and I was added to my husband’s health insurance and we paid the monthly premium.  I became eligible for Medicare and kept the Medicare Part A.

Well, now that I was not going to be insured by his work insurance I needed to get signed up for all of Medicare.  I really thought this would be very confusing and hard to work through (you know, like anything the government is involved with).  But, to my surprise it was fairly simple.

Being on disability meant that I qualify for Medicare Advantage.  I never even heard of Medicare Advantage.   I was set up with an insurance company in my area that would cover my medications and my doctors and providers were a part of.  I do not pay anything more for the coverage and it is all paid by the monthly fee.  I have very little co-pays for the providers and some are free.  This insurance is better than what I had the last 5 years that cost us twice as much per month.

So, if you are getting close to the age for Medicare or have a need to get it for any reason, do not fret!  It is not that hard to do, or not that confusing.   The insurance company that I chose to go with sent out a representative that met with me to explain all my benefits and gave me all kinds of phone and online supports.  I am very pleased and feel a great relief.  We even went over when my husband would qualify for this insurance and how he is to apply since he is approaching the age of 65 in the next year.

All we have to do now is worry about what the new Health Care Reform is going to do to this in the near future.

What are your health insurance issues?  Do you have some helpful hints or a story to share or some questions?  Please leave a comment.

I added some links to some news releases on the opinions on the passing of the new health bill.  They are all pretty good and worth reading.  It will be interesting to see what happens because of this.  Leave a comment with your opinion.

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• The Senate’s Health Reform Bill (letstalkhealthcare.org)
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• The Health Care Debate (continued) (timesunion.com)
• How Your U.S. Lawmaker Voted (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Health Bill Benefits for the Impatient (prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com)
• Tax and Spend: (brothersjuddblog.com)
• How Will the Senate Bill Impact the Insurance Companies and Their Customers? (thehealthcareblog.com)
• Best health bill we can pass (timesunion.com)
• Senate Bill: Reactions from Doctors, Insurers, Business, Etc. (blogs.wsj.com)

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