It would appear that the saga is far from over. (If you want the full story, you can read part 1 of My Wife Quit Her Job) Just when you think you can’t handle any more of a challenge, a little more gets thrown on top. Obviously, God knows we can handle more.
Since my wife quit her job, we’ve been paying for Cobra health insurance to continue with the coverage that we had. It was a bit of an increase since you pay for the company portion as well as what you would have normally paid, but we had already met our deductible and it pays 100% after that. That full coverage bit helped us justify the extra couple of hundred that we had to pay each month. But earlier this week, we got a letter from my wife’s former employer that informed us that the cost of the insurance would be going up and that beginning on the 1st of September we would have to pay that.
I probably don’t have to tell you that the increase puts an even deeper kink in our financial situation. We may have to lose the 100% coverage in exchange for the plan that I get from work. It’s only marginally cheaper than the original Cobra price, but even more so now that we’ve been hit with this increase. The only part I haven’t worked out is if we would be better off keeping the Cobra coverage until the end of the year. Any new deductible that we might have to meet may offset any extra premiums that we would have to pay. Decisions, Decisions.
On a brighter note, the business that my wife and her friends started is still doing well. She’s even expecting to get her first paycheck from the new company this month! Certainly not a full paycheck, but getting closer.
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[…] Last update, I told you that the COBRA health insurance plan premium went through the roof and we were deciding whether to continue paying for it, or to switch over to the plan that I get at work. In the end, we decided to remain on the COBRA plan. The difference was about $350 a month, but we figured that if we had only one or two medical mishaps, it would easily pay for itself with the 100% coverage. And, as luck would have it, it turned out to be a good idea. Both my wife and I ended up having issues that required several weeks of physical therapy. Hers stems from an accident she had a few years back that seems to have thrown a few things off. Nothing some pt and a pair of orthotics won’t fix. Mine is from my football days. Arguably, not completely necessary, but was something that would need to be fixed one way or the other, so decided to get it taken care of. Then, to make our decision look even smarter, my wife fell in the ice and snow yesterday and severely sprained her ankle and knee and prompted a visit to the ER. We got a nice new pair of crutches and what will likely be a very expensive pair of athletic wraps. Of course, all paid for by our insurance. The extra money has easily paid for itself. But, that all ends on the 1st, so we’re switching back to the coverage that I get at work. […]