Why you should always have health insurance coverage: A friend of mine moved from one job to another and didn’t get around to mailing in a check for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COBRA_(insurance) COBRA] (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, although what that has to do with health insurance, I don’t know (sounds like a manufactured acronym, or “manufacronym”, as it were)) insurance form. This allows you to simply pay directly (whatever your previous employer had been paying) to keep the same health insurance you had while at work until some other form of insurance kicks in.
He broke his arm snowboarding, and needed surgery to set and pin the bones. The hospital bill was around $25,000, and he has to pay that out of his own pocket. He can pay the bill over a period of time (several years), but that’s still a sizable chunk of money.
Admittedly, there was a period in between jobs (when I left my job-before-last and went off on my own, actually) that I also did not continue under COBRA and was uninsured for a period, though I made it through just fine (before signing up for a Blue Cross PPO plan at about $60 per month), and there’s no decent safety net, otherwise, for what can end up costing far more than you can afford.
What’s odd: He says COBRA was around $300 a month. That’s strange, considering the cost of my simple Blue Cross plan. (Correct me if I’m mis-remembering the exact figure, but I do know the difference was very large.) Why is it so much? Isn’t this a government program to encourage and facilitate people moving between jobs keeping medical insurance at all times?
on a positive note, the kind folks at mammoth hospital have granted my request to reduce the bill by 50%, so now all i owe is a measly $12,500. it’s only fair, considering that’s about how much insurance actually pays. actually my cobra was about $220 a month – it was more expensive because i waited several months to elect coverage. i have to agree w/ you about superman. to me the biggest problem was the casting – brandon routh may look the part, but he sure can’t play the part. after seeing this, i realized just how good chris reeve was in this role. not only CR, but margot kidder and gene hackman as well.
Glad you got it reduced—that’s still a lot, though. How’s your arm? Oh yeah, either I’m not too perceptive or I just didn’t notice your cast the other night—was it taken off?
arm is a lot better now, thanks for asking. yes, it is still quite a bit of money. my cast is off now, and your perceptive abilities are intact.