Starting tomorrow morning (early morning), I will officially be working full-time at Intertec, the same place I contracted at for a week last month. Woohoo!
And I’ll even have benefits after 30 days… which is excellent, considering that my health insurance expires today! I just have to hope I don’t get into any major medical crises during the month of December. (By the way… Happy December! :)
Anyway, as I understand it, I’ll be sort of a combination software developer, techie assistant, resume processor, jack-of-all-trades. The point is… I’m employed! Yay!
Brendan
Being that I lead the sad existance of account manager for a health insurance broker 40 hours a week, im quite disturbed that you will go uncovered for the month of december. Im not trying to see you anything (trust me i dont work on commission nor do I have any interest in generating more premium for the evil fat cat insurance carriers) HOWEVER I do see many a claim pass by my desk and getting sick is absurdly expensive when you DO have coverage but its astronomically expensive when you are uninsured. Please look into getting a short term/major medical plan for the month of december, which will cost you somwhere between 80 and 100 dollars, 150 if you get a plan with Rx coverage. Premium cost and plan design will vary from state to state. Or if you previously covered under a parent’s plan as a dependent child, enroll as COBRA for a month.
On a lighter note, congrats on the job! YAY!
Recommendation against COBRA as it being more trouble than it is worth. (And exorbitantly expensive) However, agreement with the spirt of the statement that it is better to have health coverage than not.
I quite agree. I was looking at COBRA for when I might end up leaving this job sometime next year, and found that I would have to pay mine and the government’s share–to the tune of nearly $300 a month, total. Fuhgedaboudit.
Hey Kate diva, maybe you have some advice: I’m switching to a MSA-type healthcare plan starting January 1st. I’m assuming I can then access the $1000 right away and spend it on doctor appointments, new glasses, etc. as I wish. Then, suppose I leave my job in the month or two after that. Having paid into it only one month, I can still deplete all of that $1000 and not have to pay any of it back once I leave the job, correct? FYI: I’m speaking specifically about the consumer-driven option offered by the USPS workers union.
Oh yeah, anybody else with some idea about what my options and [financial] obligations are regarding this healthcare plan upon leaving my job before the 12 month period is up, please let me know. :-)
In the not terribly helpful advise column for today.
I would imagine that all penalties, requirements, and so forth would be laid out in your Employment and Health Care contracts. Which I’m sure you are planing to read before signing them any way, just like the rest of a very very small minority of people that bother to read things before signing them. We call these people Lawyers, and or future lawyers (As I recall Jeff Urdahl was absolutely flabbergasted that I had actually read the USC Housing contract and checked for changes each year.)
Okay Kate, I am in the process of applying for a one-month insurance policy from Celtic Insurance (hey, I like the name) for $40. Thank you, insure.com. (Do you think that blatant plug will get me a gift certificate for free insurance?) The policy has a $1,000 deductable and 80% coverage up to $5,000 (100% after that, up to $2 million), so that’s a maximum payout by me of $2,000 total. Which is a lot of money, but at least it’s not a five-figure hospital bill, right? And hey, I have a Wells Fargo credit card now, for overdraft protection purposes, so at least I hypothetically have a way of charging $2,000 if I need to, without asking Becky for a loan. :) (Somehow, asking my girlfriend for a $2,000 loan would not make me feel terribly manly.)
In order to get anything substantively better in terms of coverage (specifically, $500 deductable and 100% coverage), I would have to go all the way up to $80/month, doubling the cost… so I figure I’ll take a $1,500 risk for $40 now, because we’re only talking about a month here, so what are the odds? (knock repeatedly and vociferously on wood)… and I don’t have that much money at the moment, and I’m going to L.A. next weekend to visit friends and watch the ‘SC game, so I need money for food and drink… especially drink. Yes, I have my priorities in order. :)
In response to the COBRA issue, its a common misconception that COBRA is ALWAYS ridiculously expensive. Every plan is different. Large group employers ARE very expensive. They have composite rates as opposed to age banded rates which means everyone regardless of age pays the SAME rate. I work for a small employer so my rate as a single is age banded and therefore much lower than someone age 50. For me, COBRA would be affordable if I chose to terminate employment. My advice to anyone leaving a job or losing dependent status is to NOT RULE OUT COBRA immediately. It sometimes can be a great option because your coverage will be seamless and you are getting very comprehensive health benefits unlike a major medical plan which will only cover emergencies. If you are someone who has lots of prescriptions and tends to go to the doctor a lot it might make sense to pay more in premium. For someone who avoids the doctor, a major medical plan with no prescription drug coverage makes more sense. Granted other times COBRA out of the question, no doubt about it.
And overall the American public is being raped by the insurance industry. We have seen some increases of up to 40% for some of our clients.
In regards to the MSA….the benefit overview you showed me seemed to indicate that you COULD perhaps milk that plan for all its worth and then quit. However, that was clearly just a highlight reel of the plan. I would ask your employer for a detailed benefits description or a customer service line for the insurance carrier. Many plans have new entrant restrictions and waiting periods for certain services. Read the fine print before you go on a health care binge.
December 1st, 2003 at 1:25:45 pm
Brendan
Being that I lead the sad existance of account manager for a health insurance broker 40 hours a week, im quite disturbed that you will go uncovered for the month of december. Im not trying to see you anything (trust me i dont work on commission nor do I have any interest in generating more premium for the evil fat cat insurance carriers) HOWEVER I do see many a claim pass by my desk and getting sick is absurdly expensive when you DO have coverage but its astronomically expensive when you are uninsured. Please look into getting a short term/major medical plan for the month of december, which will cost you somwhere between 80 and 100 dollars, 150 if you get a plan with Rx coverage. Premium cost and plan design will vary from state to state. Or if you previously covered under a parent’s plan as a dependent child, enroll as COBRA for a month.
On a lighter note, congrats on the job! YAY!
December 1st, 2003 at 1:35:08 pm
Recommendation against COBRA as it being more trouble than it is worth. (And exorbitantly expensive) However, agreement with the spirt of the statement that it is better to have health coverage than not.
December 1st, 2003 at 2:11:23 pm
I quite agree. I was looking at COBRA for when I might end up leaving this job sometime next year, and found that I would have to pay mine and the government’s share–to the tune of nearly $300 a month, total. Fuhgedaboudit.
December 1st, 2003 at 2:17:30 pm
Hey Kate diva, maybe you have some advice: I’m switching to a MSA-type healthcare plan starting January 1st. I’m assuming I can then access the $1000 right away and spend it on doctor appointments, new glasses, etc. as I wish. Then, suppose I leave my job in the month or two after that. Having paid into it only one month, I can still deplete all of that $1000 and not have to pay any of it back once I leave the job, correct? FYI: I’m speaking specifically about the consumer-driven option offered by the USPS workers union.
December 1st, 2003 at 2:18:43 pm
Oh yeah, anybody else with some idea about what my options and [financial] obligations are regarding this healthcare plan upon leaving my job before the 12 month period is up, please let me know. :-)
December 1st, 2003 at 2:47:09 pm
In the not terribly helpful advise column for today.
I would imagine that all penalties, requirements, and so forth would be laid out in your Employment and Health Care contracts. Which I’m sure you are planing to read before signing them any way, just like the rest of a very very small minority of people that bother to read things before signing them. We call these people Lawyers, and or future lawyers (As I recall Jeff Urdahl was absolutely flabbergasted that I had actually read the USC Housing contract and checked for changes each year.)
December 1st, 2003 at 3:14:19 pm
LOL, Dane.
And LOL at Andrew’s greeting, “Hey Kate diva.”
Okay Kate, I am in the process of applying for a one-month insurance policy from Celtic Insurance (hey, I like the name) for $40. Thank you, insure.com. (Do you think that blatant plug will get me a gift certificate for free insurance?) The policy has a $1,000 deductable and 80% coverage up to $5,000 (100% after that, up to $2 million), so that’s a maximum payout by me of $2,000 total. Which is a lot of money, but at least it’s not a five-figure hospital bill, right? And hey, I have a Wells Fargo credit card now, for overdraft protection purposes, so at least I hypothetically have a way of charging $2,000 if I need to, without asking Becky for a loan. :) (Somehow, asking my girlfriend for a $2,000 loan would not make me feel terribly manly.)
In order to get anything substantively better in terms of coverage (specifically, $500 deductable and 100% coverage), I would have to go all the way up to $80/month, doubling the cost… so I figure I’ll take a $1,500 risk for $40 now, because we’re only talking about a month here, so what are the odds? (knock repeatedly and vociferously on wood)… and I don’t have that much money at the moment, and I’m going to L.A. next weekend to visit friends and watch the ‘SC game, so I need money for food and drink… especially drink. Yes, I have my priorities in order. :)
So anyway, there you go, I will be insured.
December 1st, 2003 at 3:32:45 pm
Okay, the application went through and my debit card was charged, and my effective date is 12/01/2003, so I believe I am now officially insured.
Whew, those 15 hours, 28 minutes, and 18 seconds of being uninsured were scary, man. :)
December 1st, 2003 at 4:59:36 pm
Belatedly, congratulations on the job! Excellent, well done, hip hip hurrah! :)
Good work re the insurance, too. COBRA is, as noted by others, prohibitively expensive.
December 1st, 2003 at 6:15:30 pm
Well, I don’t know Kate, but her email address is “Kate is a diva @ hotmail dot com”. :-)
December 2nd, 2003 at 9:38:53 am
First off….HOORAY FOR BEING INSURED BRENDAN!
In response to the COBRA issue, its a common misconception that COBRA is ALWAYS ridiculously expensive. Every plan is different. Large group employers ARE very expensive. They have composite rates as opposed to age banded rates which means everyone regardless of age pays the SAME rate. I work for a small employer so my rate as a single is age banded and therefore much lower than someone age 50. For me, COBRA would be affordable if I chose to terminate employment. My advice to anyone leaving a job or losing dependent status is to NOT RULE OUT COBRA immediately. It sometimes can be a great option because your coverage will be seamless and you are getting very comprehensive health benefits unlike a major medical plan which will only cover emergencies. If you are someone who has lots of prescriptions and tends to go to the doctor a lot it might make sense to pay more in premium. For someone who avoids the doctor, a major medical plan with no prescription drug coverage makes more sense. Granted other times COBRA out of the question, no doubt about it.
And overall the American public is being raped by the insurance industry. We have seen some increases of up to 40% for some of our clients.
In regards to the MSA….the benefit overview you showed me seemed to indicate that you COULD perhaps milk that plan for all its worth and then quit. However, that was clearly just a highlight reel of the plan. I would ask your employer for a detailed benefits description or a customer service line for the insurance carrier. Many plans have new entrant restrictions and waiting periods for certain services. Read the fine print before you go on a health care binge.
December 2nd, 2003 at 11:57:25 am
Absolutely. Thanks for the fine advice, Kate. I love divas!!!
December 2nd, 2003 at 12:27:43 pm
You’re very welcome Andrew
=)