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jax

jax

VR.org Supporter
Supporting Member
Joined
May 7, 2009
Messages
486
Location
Green Springs, ohio
The people in my husbands union voted on a strike yesterday. So not only will he not be working because all the other people made a stupid decision right before christmas but as of midnight last night I have no health insurance. Thank god my coaguchek has already been approved because otherwise I would have to pay to have my inr checked. Can't tell you how upset me and the husband are right now. We both think it was a stupid decision. But out of 70 people only 7 people were smart enough to vote to accept and keep working right before christmas. So even though I don't think I'll be able to handle it I will have to get some overtime in hoping that this doesn't take long. Can't tell you how much I am not in the christmas spirit this year especially now. It has been one thing after another this year. Not only that but I was supposed to go see the cardiologist on the 14th and I now have to cancel since I have no insurance and I was having issues that I needed to talk to him about. Grrrrrr. Sorry to spout off but this is devastating news for the husband and I.
 
That stinks ... Call your cardio and explain your situation, you might be surprised ... they might “run a tab” and file after he goes back to work and it should be covered since no pre existing condition should apply ... you don’t know if you don’t ask ... good luck...
 
Thanks for the suggestion cooker. I never thought of that. The last day has just been unreal for us. We can't believe that they voted to strike on what they did and especially in such a bad economy. They all must be better off then we are. We live from pay check to pay check and were just starting to be able to save some. Things were actually starting to look up for us and our hard work was finally starting to pay off and then this happened. I am just hoping there will be a fast resolution as they are not striking over something serious like wages or health insurance although the health insurance changed quite a bit in this contract I think everyone realized the company would not change that.
 
I too am having the bah humbugs. Our income has shrunk so much that the only things left to cut is insurance and we can't do that. That is precisely what put us where we are today, so were not going to make that mistake twice or we'll lose everything. We may lose it all no matter what we do at this point. Your not alone!

No COLA for me, so I won't see much of an increase in my Medicare Advantage Plan, but my wife's insurance went up 2 times in premiums and really is a worthless document unless catastrophy hits. Ever feel like your just throwing money away?
 
Yeah I feel that way sometimes ross. Thankfully with the two incomes we were able to pay our bills every month. But now with them on strike and the hubby only getting 150 per week strike pay I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to pay the mortgage and all the bills. I'm hoping they won't be out long but I have to start preparing for the worst. I never would have thought he would be on strike as I didn't think from the contract offer I read was that alarming but then again everyone interprets it differently and apparently the majority of the workers didn't read it the same way I did. My opinion was that except for the health insurance they had a good offer. The company froze wages for this year but the second and 3rd year they gave a 50 cent an hour raise. Oh well can't do anything about it now except hope and pray it is resolved very quickly.
 
Jackie, this might be a dumb question, but are you sure your insurance goes away as soon as the company goes on strike? Most companies pay premiums by the month so all of December would already be paid for. You'd only be in trouble if they're still on strike at the beginning of January.

Michele
 
river-wear said:
Jackie, this might be a dumb question, but are you sure your insurance goes away as soon as the company goes on strike? Most companies pay premiums by the month so all of December would already be paid for. You'd only be in trouble if they're still on strike at the beginning of January.

Michele
Click to expand...

I was just going to ask the same thing, I would bet the it is paid thru December. After that which hopefully the strike it over, you might consider looking into COBRA, it know it is VERY hard, to pay for COBRA, when you aren't working, we had to do it for a couple months and ours was 1300 a month, but that way IF your husband ends up getting a new job ect, you won't have a lapse in coverage, so no proeblem with preexisting clauses. I'm not sure BUT I believe they passed something recently that they COBRA is myuch cheaper than when we had to do it a couple years ago (when my husband lost his job in Dec and I was STILL waiting for disability to be approved.)
 
Lynlw said:
I was just going to ask the same thing, I would bet the it is paid thru December. After that which hopefully the strike it over, you might consider looking into COBRA, it know it is VERY hard, to pay for COBRA, when you aren't working, we had to do it for a couple months and ours was 1300 a month, but that way IF your husband ends up getting a new job ect, you won't have a lapse in coverage, so no proeblem with preexisting clauses. I'm not sure BUT I believe they passed something recently that they COBRA is myuch cheaper than when we had to do it a couple years ago (when my husband lost his job in Dec and I was STILL waiting for disability to be approved.)
Click to expand...

I believe something was passed to make COBRA more affordable, at least for a period during the recession. Don't have the details but it is definitely worth looking into.
 
Superbob said:
I believe something was passed to make COBRA more affordable, at least for a period during the recession. Don't have the details but it is definitely worth looking into.
Click to expand...

Yes it was, but when we checked on Lyn's, it's still unaffordable to us even with the help on it. It ain't cheap.
 
The government passed a bill paying 65% of people's COBRA expense if you lost your job between late last year and December 31 of this year. There is an extension that Congress is considering. I don't know how long the COBRA support lasts - might only be as long as you're eligible for unemployment.
 
Yeah, about the insurance... I would definitely look into it. Mine is paid two months ahead... meaning that in December, I'm paying February premiums. Any insurance continuation through strike benefits?
 
river-wear said:
The government passed a bill paying 65% of people's COBRA expense if you lost your job between late last year and December 31 of this year. There is an extension that Congress is considering. I don't know how long the COBRA support lasts - might only be as long as you're eligible for unemployment.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure it is 18 months well you are eligible to have it for 18 months, I don't know how long the Gov picks up most of the cost.
 
The COBRA subsidy was passed this year in Jan as part of the first stimulus bill. It offers COBRA at 35% to those who voluntarily lost their job between Sep 1 2008, and Dec 31, 2009. The subsidy is available for 9 months. For those who lost their jobs early in 2009 (I'm one of them) the subsidy ended in Nov. I'm paying my full premium for the month of Dec. There is talk that Congress will extend the subsidy.

More info her on Dept of Labor Web site:
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/fscobrapremiumreduction.html
 
Within a month of my surgery my employer went out of business and cancelled our heath care plan, meaning no COBRA.

After a lot of searching around, I found a sympathetic insurance agent who was able to write a catastrophic policy for me with a huge deductable. I figured it might at least keep me from losing the house if I had to go back in the hospital again.

I was out of work for about a year. Fortunately I stayed healthy during that time until I was able to go back to work and get coverage through my new company's group plan.

I've recently changed jobs again. I'm working for a new company that does not currently have a healthcare plan so I'm on COBRA from my old employer. We could have added me to my wife's plan with the school system, but found that COBRA was actually significantly less expensive. I'm hoping that my new firm can get a plan in place before my COBRA runs out in eighteen months.

None of it is cheap, but I figure the risk is too great not to have some type of coverage. We learned to be very frugal during the year I was out of work after my AVR. No going out to eat, no vacations, buying "generic" products at the grocery store. We had to dip into our retirement savings a bit but were able to make it through. We're still working on rebuild our retirement savings, but my dream of retiring early is gone for sure. Maybe sometime between 65-70 at this point.

It can be tough, but things usually have a way of working out. Just make sure you're considering all of your options.


Mark
 
I could be wrong but I thought it was law before they cancel your insurance they MUST send you COBRA information. I did not think they could cancel your insurance until they did that. When we went on strike a few years ago, the company did not cancel hospitalzation.
 
I was on COBRA for almost 18 months when I got laid off. Recently my wife found a job with health benefits, but it costs us almost as much as COBRA did. COBRA should be available for you and your husband if your insurance is going away. Hopefully the strike won't last long enough to require it.
 
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