Functioning without insurance?

[purplefocus]

Due to not being able to work and the high cost of my insurance and the fact that we went from a two income family to a one income family, there just isn't any way to keep my medical insurance if I want to keep my house and electricity I am in the process of the disability insurance stuff but I know that is an iffy and if I am approved it takes a long time. Do any of you get by without medical insurance and if you do, HOW do you do it? I have a regular doctor and I think he would continue to give my prescriptions over the phone but I wouldn't be able to go see him and forget if I needed to go to the hospital. Geez don't we have a wonderful thing screwing with our life here. Not only do I have to deal with the financial issues but also the other part of feeling like I am not contributing to life and my career has gone down the drain. Ok I guess I am having a pity party here..........woe is me

Paige

[justme]

I honestly don't know how anybody can do it. If my wife didn't have me to support her, I'm not sure what she would do. I am able to put her on my insurance. She has attempted to hold several jobs, but just can't do it. Her working = Emergency Room visits (just a matter of time). When she first moved here, we were able to COBRA her insurance. Very expensive, but was the only option. Her prescriptions were more than the premium payment, so was a "no brainer". Eventually, that would have ran out though.

It is a Catch-22 situation because you have to work to able to afford insurance, but if you are healthy enough to work it isn't as big of an issue. If you can't work, you can't get affordable insurance, but that is when you need insurance the most...when you are sick.

The other misconception that many folks have is that many times they can't disallow coverage because of a pre-existing condition. Let's say that is the case, there is nothing stating how much the insurance company can charge for the coverage.

Many states have programs to assist with situations like your's. I know our's does, but then you have to meet all of those requirements as well. I offered (my now wife, but at the time wasn't) a place to live to recover from her surgery and other complications. We were just friends at the time, but because she lived in my house she didn't qualify for anything because of my job. Lots of flaws in these programs. All you hear about is how people are on them, but I'm not sure how anybody gets into these programs.

[Ladybug]

I'm 21 and still living at home with my parents. I received a full scholarship to my first choice university, so while I was attending, I was still a dependent. However, I had to drop out this semester because of my POTS. We were wondering what to do and came across a thing called COBRA. I don't know how recently you had to quit work, but it is for situations when you find yourself w/o insurance for a short time because of an emergency/illness. I'm not sure exactly how it all works, but its worth looking into. By the way, can I join your pity party?!? I know how you feel. I was a straight A student in high school and worked hard to get my scholarship- now it was all for nothing. Plus, I can't work or drive (I have seizures), so basically, I live off of my parents (who are totally understanding, but I feel horrible about all of the $ I'm costing them). I understand feeling worthless.