Anybody else not have health insurance?

[Bloofer_Lady]

With all of the talk of health insurance on this forum I am curious as to how many of you don't have health insurance. The reason I don't have any is that I am an 'independent contractor' and can't afford it on the money I get paid. Even if the company I worked for made me and my fellow workers regular employees I still wouldn't be able to afford the insurance they provide because it's so expensive.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. i don't

nor my wife and kids at the moment

[wildbilln864]

2. none here! nt

[Vinca]

3. No insurance going on 6 years. The self-employed are generally screwed.

Even if you have no pre-existing conditions, the premiums are like buying a beachfront condo in Maui as a vacation home. Or so I imagine. I know the current rate quoted to us makes our mortgage payment look like chump change. Let's hear it for health care reform!:sarcasm:

[Bloofer_Lady]

5. What's laughable is that my company actually thinks we can pay for it.

The company I work for is run by delusional Evangelicals.

[Vinca]

12. They're full of it. That's why you're an independent contractor

rather than an employee. They don't want to pay.

[Bloofer_Lady]

17. That's exactly right.

I would quit this job in a heartbeat if there were any jobs to be had where I live.

[izquierdista]

14. Ditto

I bet if you went over to Rushland and asked if anybody else has been without for 6 years, there would be a lot of dittos there, too.

[kestrel91316]

4. Me.

[Speck Tater]

6. No insurance for 3 years, but my Medicare starts next month. nt

[Donnachaidh]

7. we had a weird situation, 2 had, one had none

I'm disabled, so medicare covered me in emergencies. We had PeachCare for our son with a bleeding disorder. But my DH went without insurance for a year and a half, because the job he had coverage under was lost when the company went belly up.

We've only recently gotten coverage again, because he was hired on at another company. While the costs are about the same for the insurance, he was forced to take a 25% pay cut in order to get them. That alone makes it hard to think of using the insurance, because it's not going to be easy to come up with the co-pays and deductibles. The one good thing about this insurance -- they cover pre-existing conditions. At least they claim to. Haven't used them yet.

[hobbit709]

8. Insurance no, medical coverage through the VA yes.

[sandnsea]

9. Yes because I have a subsidy n/t

[asdjrocky]

10. No health care for me!

The really sad thing about that is I have cable TV. All I need to do is watch TV to tell me what I have, and what would fix it. Lol, my right leg has had numbness for a year, but what do you do, go to an emergency room and say my leg is numb? They'll just give me a prescription I can't afford to buy.

America, what a country. I know I will die sooner than someone with more money, just because they can get a pill that I can't have.

[Bloofer_Lady]

11. I figure if I get sick I'll go into debt.

Which is the same as a lot of other Americans right now so I won't feel too bad about it.

[one_voice]

13. I have medicare...

because I'm on disability. But my husband and son don't have insurance. My husband will be able to enroll through his job in October, but I don't know if we can afford it. It'll cost over $600 a month, for my husband and son. I don't know if the new health care bill would do me any good.

[madmom]

15. My daughter has no insurance. She's 26, unemployed, decided to go back to school to "retrain".

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. Neither one of my adult children has insurance.

[w8liftinglady]

18. 30 percent of my county.My middle son is one of them

he is a waiter-not in college this year(due to my illness)...so he gets screwed.A waiter who makes 2.15/hr plus tips-which suck these days.i am praying I'll be able to get him in college next smester...and that I can get back to work-otherwise-he remains screwed....unless he goes into the military,of course.

[w8liftinglady]

31. oh,yeah-and by God and Country-that's how a free-market works!Be grateful!

[undeterred]

19. I am a contractor too.

I just became insured this week after 2 years of unemployment/low paying jobs. My agency offers "affordable insurance". They came up with 2 plans that you can afford if you are willing to pay $22 or $35 per week (for a single person).

The coverage isn't great but it is better than nothing. They will pay up to $75 monthly for prescriptions. Limited coverage on hospitalization and testing.

They will pay $50 or $100 towards an emergency room visit, which is pathetic.

There are many exceptions and the coverage is much lower than insurance I've had before, but I will use it enough to get my money back. At least its something that people making $11 an hour can afford.

[Greyhound]

20. Not for years. n/t

[Urban Prairie]

21. My unemployed wife does not have any health insurance

Her Medicaid coverage was cancelled by our state (MI) after having it for about six months last year, because the amount of my income from being disabled was "too high". (about 40% of what I grossed monthly during my last full year of employment in '05) She also has some "pre-existing" health problems which cause her a great deal of pain,(including fibromyalgia, although it has not as yet been officially/medically diagnosed) which would obviously be excluded from any private health insurance coverage that we could unaffordably obtain, since at her age (46) it would likely be very expensive with high monthly premiums, annual deductibles, and co-payments.

We have actually discussed getting divorced, just so that she might qualify for it again.

How pathetic is that?

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

22. I haven't had health insurance for over 10 years. I am in business for myself with no

employees and can't afford it. With the down turn in the economy, I can only afford to pay my regular bills and a bit left over for inventory.

[madmax]

23. Grandaughter works 66 hours a week - 2 p/t jobs.

No insurance. Can't find a job that will hire her for 40hr. week w/benefits. Can't afford to buy insurance even working 2 jobs.

[NightWatcher]

24. I have auto insurance. When I get sick I have to hit something with my truck

I knocked over the mailbox, busted a tail light, and caught a sinus infection

[MineralMan]

25. I had individual health insurance before I was old enough for

Medicare. I was also an independent contractor. It was more than I could afford, but I kept it, just in case. Now that I'm on Medicare, I carry a supplement, too. Lots cheaper.

We need single-payer healthcare.

[w8liftinglady]

26. some interesting info

http://covertheuninsured.org/

Hear the Stories
The Cover the Uninsured Campaign is committed to illuminating the stories of those Americans who experience the negative consequences of being uninsured and the stories of the dedicated health care providers who work with the uninsured.

[intheflow]

27. In 25 years of working, I've only had it twice.

The first time was when I sold my soul to work for a military contractor for two years. (Hey, they paid for my undergrad degree in peace studies so I figured the karma came out about even.) The second time was for a year working for a relief organization on the Coast after Katrina. Even if my former employers offered it or I was eligible for it ((worked enough hours), I've never been able to afford it.

[DiverDave]

28. Just lost it last week

just lost my job...the kids can get chip, the wife and I, who knows?

[GirlAfire]

29. I Have None. I Lost it When...

...I lost my job a year ago. But it wasn't employer-provided health insurance. I couldn't afford to pay for it once I lost my job.

[Missy Vixen]

30. We don't have it

We lost ours in November of '08 when my husband got laid off. He is now a contractor. The "insurance" they provide: $25,000 worth of coverage (and a $2,000 deductible,) for $450 a month. Needless to say, we didn't take them up on it.

I am an author and self-employed.

Every day now, I worry. Every day.

[MilesColtrane]

32. Self employed here.

No insurance.

Just paid $500 last week for a visit to an orthopedic doc and a cortisone shot.

It's no fun being one accident or heart attack away from being financially wiped out for the rest of your life.

I've been extraordinarily lucky so far.

[meow mix]

33. never had any, wish i did

i dont see the health reform ever helping.. other than penalizing me somehow. not sure how theyll manage that other than jail time maybe lol

[tech9413]

34. None here

I was covered by my ex until the company she worked for went belly up in 2001. My employer at the time offered a really shit PPO. Not worth the money they asked for the service. My job since then has been taking care of my 89 y/o parents. They can't afford to pay health insurance on SS and retirement accounts.
My health insurance is stay healthy and die quickly.

[emilyg]

35. My daughter.

[SteveM]

36. Nope. The "New" job picture: everyone will be PTT in the future...

Part-Time Temporary. The invisible hand of the marketplace will flick away nearly all permanent jobs so you will not have:
(1) job security;
(2) employment contract;
(3) job safety;
(4) no vacation (exept non-paid);
(5) no sick-leave (except non-paid);
(6) no retirement plan (except for the employer-controlled 20lKs);
(7) no medical coverage (but we knew that)

In the "recovery" from the "rust-belt" downturn of the 70s/80s, workers were forced to take lesser-paying jobs (with benefits).
In the "recovery" from the real estate/tech/outsourcing busts of the 90s, workers took lesser paying jobs with fewer benefits.
In the "recovery" from the Great Recession, workers will take part-time temporary (as above).

It's 'my way or the highway, folks."

[JoeyT]

37. None here.

Couldn't afford to use it when I did have it, now I don't have it and I still can't afford it.
Can't wait till I have to buy it and still won't be able to afford to use it.

I'm in much the same situation you are: Independent contractor. Even if the pay is good, it isn't enough to buy an insurance policy and pay co-pays.

Edited to add: And welcome to DU!

[girl gone mad]

38. I was uninsured in my 20s..

after realizing I had what Elizabeth Warren calls "fauxsurance" - an insurance policy that didn't actually cover anything, despite the high premiums.

I will be uninsured again shortly, in protest of the mandate. I'm trying to save money like crazy and shelter whatever I can. Ugh.

[2Design]

39. I make 18,000 and there is no room for insurance with rent and car and

and utilities - I had hoped for health care from the government but that is not going to happen in my lifetime

[laughingliberal]

40. We don't. Husband is self employed and after I lost my job, we paid $1200 per mo for COBRA

We carried it until he finished cancer treatment and then had to choose shelter or insurance. Shelter won. Husband will be 65 in 2 years but I'm 55 and have to hope for the best for 10 years.

[Withywindle]

41. Checkin' in, nope.

I have two jobs at the moment, but they're part-time and freelance. I make enough to keep the rent paid and the lights on and me and my cat fed, but that's about all.

I had a salaried job with benefits for 14 years. That's all gone now.