Gonna lose my health insurance, now what?

My husband just got laid off and his job was the one to provide us with coverage.  We will have insurance thru the month, cobra is going to be too expensive. Does anyone know anything about getting an independent policy? Do they even take UCer's?  Oh the stress.......

Diagnosed when I was 9 with left sided UC. No doctors or meds from age 10 to October 2008.

 Had cryptosporidiosis June 2009. Diagnosed with pancolitis March 2010. Not in remission.

 Also just got over a case of C. Diff.  Only med I'm on now is Azathioprone.

Post Edited (Supergirl257) : 8/8/2010 5:35:57 PM (GMT-6)

It is scary Cupcakes, especially with the way my disease is progressing I think I'm pretty well on my way to Remi or Humira. And if that doesnt work....

I thought there were provisions in the new Obama health care that cobra was to be more affordable???? I wish I knew the details. I think we've had threads about it on here before. Do a search, you might find some answers. Good luck to you. This all sucks with health insurance!

I need to do more research to see what options are out there but I think I am in denial right now. Doing the research just stresses me out and I am trying not to stress. Unfortunately I think a lot of the new Obama stuff hasn't kicked in yet, it seems like last I heard all the dates were further out than 2010 or 2011.

supergirl, hopefully you won't need this info but the makers of Humira have some great assistance pay programs. When I was on it I had insurance but my copay was way high, I qualified for their copay assistance program and only had to pay $5 a month for 2 pens. I know under the same program they have something for those without health insurance, just something to keep in mind if you come to that road!

I came off my parents' insurance in August of 2009 and began to look for my own insurance since I am young and self-employed. Unfortunately, I developed UC and was diagnosed only 4 months after I came off of their insurance.

Because of this, I have tried and cannot get individual health insurance. I have even asked for a exemption on a plan to exclude coverage for UC treatment and medications, but I can't get accepted. I would like to have it for any future problems or emergencies -- but no one wants me because of the UC.

It doesn't seem fair, but that is how insurance works. I am anxiously waiting for my state's Pre-Existing Condition Plan to start accepting applications in mid-August. It is part of the Obama health care that is setup for people who can't get insurance and have a pre-existing condition. It has an annual out of pocket cap, but they haven't released the premium yet.

I am self-employed and have only been running my business for a year and a half. Therefore, I haven't shown a huge amount of profit yet. I applied for Lialda (Shire Cares) Patient Assistance since I have no insurance and I am under their income cap. I received a Lialda prescription for 1 year for free. Unfortunately I'm currently in a huge flare and my GI wants me to start Humira.

However, Humira is even more expensive if you're paying out-of-pocket (close to $28,000 per year for me). My GI prescribed it at the end of July 2010 after a flexible sigmoidoscope. Since I can't afford it, I immediately called Humira (Abbot) Patient Assistance. Within a couple days they let me know that I was approved to receive it free for one year. It is supposed to arrive this Thursday and I can't wait to give it a try. Hopefully it works.

So I am hopeful I can get on my state's Pre-Existing Condition Plan or go back on my parents' plan (since I am under 26 years old) if the new law allows it. It is unfortunate because the stress of this insurance situation and the costly bills seems to cause my UC symptoms to be worse.

I would pay for the cobra. Individual plans usually have high deductibles and don't compare to group plans. I've been denied from individual plans because of my preexisting condition. I have a group now through my fiancees job but I worry that eventually I will be without insurance again and I know I would do Cobra if I had the option no matter what the cost. It's probably less than individual plans. Definitely have to do a lot of research.

www.healthcare.gov/ is right.

High risk pools are now available in every state.

http://www.healthcare.gov/law/provisions/preexisting/index.html

 

I was also impressed by what healthcare.gov offers. It's easy to identify policies, maybe you can at least get a hospitalization policy and give yourself some peace of mind. I don't agree that COBRA is less expensive than a health plan, some employee health plans are overly generous. You have to crunch the numbers and figure out what you really need. The COBRA subsidy program under "Stimulus" ended, unfortunately.

What are his job prospects? Maybe he'll find a new job and you won't have to go very long without insurance. Have hope!
But hurry to the doc and load up on RX before his insurance ends at the end of the month! Get $$ stuff you might need if you were flaring badly, hopefully they will work with you on it.

Best of luck

Starbucks does indeed pride itself on offering health benefits to part-time workers.
UPS has good benefits too, I hear.

Good luck, be strong (and well).

jeanneac said...
I thought there were provisions in the new Obama health care that cobra was to be more affordable???? I wish I knew the details. I think we've had threads about it on here before. Do a search, you might find some answers. Good luck to you. This all sucks with health insurance

The current administrations stimulus program HAD discounted COBRA coverage in the program, which has since run out and the current houses have not passed anything else at this time.  The new health care laws are separate from the help with the stimulus.  The stimulus coverage brought COBRA down to a little over $300.00 for a family.  We are losing our family coverage as well this month and start COBRA