Hi Moms,
I have a 15 month old and have been struggling ever since I went back to work at 3 months. I hate missing time with him which makes me miserable and hate my job. I'm pretty sure my employer would be okay with me working part-time BUT...my husband is self employed and my company doesn't offer insurance for part-time so we would need to purchase private insurance. I've done some reasearch and BCBS is not as horrible as I expected. AETNA on the other hand is ridiculously expensive. Are there any other providers I should research? I want to have coverage comparable to what I have now (BCBS) but don't want to pay a million dollars a month to have it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Are there any families out there who purchase private and can recommend a provider?
THanks!
I know United Health has something new they offer. I don't know the rates but here's the site, it looks like you can get a quote online.
I don't know if your state offers Aflac which is a supplemental health insurance but it may be something worth looking into for both yourself and your employer. It is paid by the employee not the employer. It is very helpful with all kinds of insurance needs and very resonably priced.
I know that pull to be with baby but it is important to be a good example for baby by working hard and diligently while at work. Being a great mom isn't just about being there for your son which is important it is also about setting good examples even in the workplace. Make the most of this while you must. If you are working to your best potential your employer may be more receptive to working out some kind of alternative arrangement with you that will suit both of you but if your work is suffering because of your bad attitude and baby blues, you may just be a replaceable person instead of a must have valueable asset they don't want to loose.
Will your employer let you stay on the plan but PAY for your insurance-through them? Mine used to do this but it was a small company.
My husband had private insurance for awhile when he was laid off. PI sucks. The coverage isn't that great and they raise the rates every year. I understand wanting to be home more with your baby though. You might want to try and figure out another way.
We have BCBS private health. Since we did not have preexisting it was not a bad process. I would suggest if your husband is self employed to see if you can get a group of other self employed people and form a group and submit for ins together. You get a group plan discount. We still have yet to look into it and no matter what private health care is expensive and the rates go up about every 6 months.
Is your employer large enough to qualify you for COBRA? That way you can keep your current insurance and just pay for it out of pocket. I know it's pretty pricey (it is for me) but it might not be much of a difference to a private plan and you usually get better protection and benefits.
Good luck!
We did that for 4 years. Until my husband accepted a full time poisition in June. BCBS we went with the hmo. It started off very reasonable. NO questions asked during my pregnancy. I was 38 and high risk from the start. A complication truly made me high risk.
But it more then doubled over those 4 years. We were self plus one and did switch to family after the birth of the baby in July 09. Check your per day charge if in the hospital. MIne was $600. IKes big miss with a c-section. NIce two thousand co pay there.
Just some things to consider.
I have a local carrier, but when you start looking you need to make sure that you are comparing apples to apples. Think about the things that you would like most from your insurance (annual visits, wellness visits, prescription med, critical care,...). That is, what will you be using it for. Start from there and then start considering things like annual or per visit limits/deductions. Also, as another mom has noted, the premiums will go up every year, so don't max your budget now. Lastly, there are some employers that will allow you to pay into their system as a part-timer, you should trying talking to your boss/HR person. Good luck,
C.
We have Humana with a huge deductible and no maternity coverage. We have also had BCBS and Assurant Health. From our experience, the rates will double within about 4-5 years (maybe sooner), and we have had 25% increases in one year. Basically, they get you in and raise the rates. If you've had to use the insurance for any reason, you can't switch because you will be denied or given coverage with exclusions, so it's very easy to get trapped with a ridiculously expensive health insurance policy. I don't mean to scare you I just want to warn you that has been our experience. Is there any way you can buy into a group plan? If your employer will let you do that it might be worthwhile. Also think of how you use the insurance. We have a high deductible because we are generally healthy, and it saved us $1000 per month to have a $7000 deductible (for the whole family) and they pay 100% after that. So even if we hit the deductible we are $5000 ahead, and we are probably never going to reach that. Another thing to think about. Good luck!
