Health Insurance: Don't Leave Home Without It

There was a time, not too long ago, that I was like most people. I worked and I griped about taxes and all the deductions from my paycheck and anytime benefits changes were planned. That was before I found out that there are far worse things than gripes about payroll deductions.

What things are those, you might ask? How about having no paycheck, at all, to fall back on every week. It's something that's very easy to take for granted when you are working, but when you lose your job, for whatever reason -- downsizing, layoff, discharge or because you think you have another one lined up and it goes away -- you lose the one thing you likely depended on for your very livelihood, your paycheck. It's an issue that grows by the day now as more and more people lose their jobs and look for work. Indeed, it could easily by called an epidemic, as thousands who have had jobs and known reasonably good pay have lost or are losing their employment.

It's happened to me more than I care to think about, but, then I have been in a business known for high turnover and predictable releases -- car sales -- for some years. Even as I write this, I'm between jobs -- and looking, like many others -- and thankful that there is at least a trickle coming in every week in the form of jobless benefits.

Yes, your former employer will tell you about your Cobra rights, but look at the premium you will be paying every month and chances are it's almost as high as your jobless benefit, so, you have a decision, do I pay the rent or do I pay for health care? HMMMM! That's a no-brainer, as your landlord does like money every month, whether your landlord is the bank (mortgage) or a regular landlord (renter). So, you decide to go without insurance?

Don't do it, all you are facing is huge expenses -- wait until you see the bill for a colonoscopy and then you tell me -- and if you are thinking that your state's unenrolled pool will cover anything other than emergencies, you are sadly mistaken.

Find out if your state is offering some sort of coverage as part of the unemployment plan. It may take a few dollars out of your benefits every week, but if it is affordable, then you have to go for it. Or, try one of the less expensive insurance companies but be very wary of the escape clauses and deductibles, however, be sure your basic care is covered.

MA has led the way in national health insurance by requiring all residents to be covered by some form of health insurance and if you cannot find coverage, the state steps in with the Commonwealth Connector or Network Health. They are still payer-based, but they are insurance and work with insurers such as Blue Cross, so the benefits package is quite reasonable.
Please believe me when I tell you that I have changed my views as I my hairline has receded and there's more gray than brown. As a younger person, I believed in pay-your-way health insurance and I did. I continued to pay my way as I became a rather heavy user of the health insurance system as I have some chronic problems that will not go away (no need to detail them here, except to say they are somewhat serious).

Today, as the administration and Congress struggle with health care reform, the British or Canadian or Scandinavian models look good to me -- nationalized health. Why not divert some of the funds that go for "earmarks," as I think they are called, in the national budget -- like studying the number of ants it takes to make a colony or some other "important" program -- and put it into a system that provides us all with the right to good health.

I believe that, while not exactly spelled out in our founding document, the Constitution, it was implicitly stated as part of the preamble that the purpose of the United States was to "...establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

The key words "promote the general Welfare" seem to ordain that it's incumbent on Washington to get its act together and help out on this national crisis. It has touched me and it may touch with a sting you won't forget, at all.