Benefits~

I'm not sure what the statistics are on how many Americans go without health/dental coverage.  I don't know how much it'll cost to have universal health care, or where the money will come from.  All I can say is that if universal coverage means we have to pay a little more in taxes each month, I'll take it.

When Conrad was laid off from T-mobile our biggest concern wasn't him finding a job, it was health care.  Fortunately T-mobile was very generous with their separation packages, & one of the benefits was extended coverage for a month.  Then Conrad got the job at Bellevue Mercerdes (with benefits), so we breathed a sigh of relief.  For a little bit....  Although Mercedes offered insurance, there was a 90-day wait period from the hire date for it to be effective.  Our choices: 1) Pay $1,000/mo on our own; 2) Chance going without coverage until January 1st, when we'd have insurance.  We chose the latter & here's why. 

We didn't have an infant anymore (as a parent, you know how often babies need to go to the doctor), we figured that if someone got sick or even minorly injured, it would still be less expensive to pay out of pocket versus the premium.  We hedged our bets & we won, albeit I had to reschedule dental cleanings until January & we paid out of pocket for some chiropractic visits.

Today, I was so thankful we had insurance again.  As luck would have it, I got pink-eye, Conrad could barely sleep for the past two nights because of a bulging disc, & all three girls had their cleanings.  I don't even want to know what the cost would have been had we had to pay for everything out of pocket.

Our insurance still is great, but it is incredibly expense ($760/mo -this is with Mercedes helping).  Almost $1,000 comes out of our pocket.  I know people bitch & moan about Obamacare, but I'd love to see how they'd feel about it if they had to come up with that money each month or pay even more out-of-pocket.  Interestingly enough, the number one cause of bankruptcy is due to medical bills.

Anyway, from personal experience, I just think it's sad that people don't get treated when they're hurting or for preventative care because of the cost alone.  I'm glad things are changing.