going without insurance - anyone do it?

[Lorna in the boonies]

We haven't had insurance for over 15 years now. My kids qualify for CHIPS, but the state won't accept one of our proofs of income as proof of income, so they have fallen through the cracks there.

 

We do belong to Samaritan Ministries, which a previous poster has already mentioned. It has helped us immensely (our church pays for it for us -- dh is a pastor, and there is no way we could afford it on our own). It's not insurance, but it is certainly better than nothing.

 

We've belonged since 1997, and it has covered 3 c-sections, a broken arm, a broken thumb, two hospital stays due to illness, and one surgery (in addition to the c-sections). It doesn't cover doctor visits or immunizations or anything of that sort, but it has certainly been a godsend for the bigger items.

 

If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask, and I'll try my best to answer.

[cjzimmer1]

I'm not sure what state you are in and I'm sure the laws vary, but where I live, to qualify for Medicaid you not only have to be below the monthly income limit you also have to have proof that you are not eligible for a group policy where the employer pays at least 80%. So if you husband's employer is paying at least 80% of the monthly premium (and of course the only way to know that is to flat out ask the company because we've never had a company come out and say outright what they were paying versus what we had to pay), then even if you dropped the group insurance, Medicaid would still refuse to cover you because you had the option for insurance but chose not to use it. Just one other factor to consider and look into before making a decision.

 

It is scary to go without insurance. I do have a friend who choose to drop coverage, they have a major medical policy for if something big happens and then have an HSA that they fund to help with the minor stuff (allergies, sick kids, broken bones etc)

 

Stephanie