I’m losing employer-sponsored insurance due to divorce. Because I will likely have to pay the full price of premiums all on my own (no subsidies) for 2022 due to an expected gain on house sale throwing me into high income, I was considering getting the cheapest plan. I’m in good health, have no conditions, don’t take any meds other than birth control (and even that, I’m OK ceasing as I’m already past being able to get pregnant). I don’t think I’ve seen the doctor in more than 2 years for anything other than my annual or vaccines. I lied – I did my mammogram in 2021 because I knew my coverage would be ending. For me, any money I spend on insurance is almost like lighting it on fire because I have very low health care needs.
I’ve always had a name brand insurance so have always been able to go see my OB/GYN (really, the only doctor I see) without issue. I can skip the annual next year. In 2023, I should be back to getting subsidies, so will probably switch then to Kaiser (I know, I will lose my OB/GYN, and I’m OK with that).
I’m thinking of the cheap plan literally for that catastrophic situation – something like getting appendicitis or slicing off my finger in the kitchen, and since I would otherwise have to pay a penalty for No Insurance (here in California).
So what do I do if I do slice off my finger? Will I be looking up which hospital is in my network with my left hand? (Or research it now, ha!). What if I happen to have a heart attack? Do I tell the ambulance drivers to go to the “county” hospital? What do I do if they start recommending a 3rd booster? Can I just go to any one of the pharmacies that have been providing COVID vaccines? (I did find the insurer’s pharmacy list, and they have all the “good” usuals listed like CVS and Walgreens). If I do decide not to skip out on my annual, am I now looking for a provider that accepts this insurance and accepts new patients, and that’s where the “this insurance sucks!” come into play? Does the insurance company provide a list of who they have negotiated contracts with or am I randomly dialing 20 doctors a day?
Thanks for any advice. Again, I so rarely use health care, so not sure what I’ll have to navigate when I go with one that doesn’t have a good reputation.
submitted by /u/therealmelaniatrump
[link] [comments]I’m losing employer-sponsored insurance due to divorce. Because I will likely have to pay the full price of premiums all on my own (no subsidies) for 2022 due to an expected gain on house sale throwing me into high income, I was considering getting the cheapest plan. I’m in good health, have no conditions, don’t take any meds other than birth control (and even that, I’m OK ceasing as I’m already past being able to get pregnant). I don’t think I’ve seen the doctor in more than 2 years for anything other than my annual or vaccines. I lied – I did my mammogram in 2021 because I knew my coverage would be ending. For me, any money I spend on insurance is almost like lighting it on fire because I have very low health care needs. I’ve always had a name brand insurance so have always been able to go see my OB/GYN (really, the only doctor I see) without issue. I can skip the annual next year. In 2023, I should be back to getting subsidies, so will probably switch then to Kaiser (I know, I will lose my OB/GYN, and I’m OK with that). I’m thinking of the cheap plan literally for that catastrophic situation – something like getting appendicitis or slicing off my finger in the kitchen, and since I would otherwise have to pay a penalty for No Insurance (here in California). So what do I do if I do slice off my finger? Will I be looking up which hospital is in my network with my left hand? (Or research it now, ha!). What if I happen to have a heart attack? Do I tell the ambulance drivers to go to the “county” hospital? What do I do if they start recommending a 3rd booster? Can I just go to any one of the pharmacies that have been providing COVID vaccines? (I did find the insurer’s pharmacy list, and they have all the “good” usuals listed like CVS and Walgreens). If I do decide not to skip out on my annual, am I now looking for a provider that accepts this insurance and accepts new patients, and that’s where the “this insurance sucks!” come into play? Does the insurance company provide a list of who they have negotiated contracts with or am I randomly dialing 20 doctors a day? Thanks for any advice. Again, I so rarely use health care, so not sure what I’ll have to navigate when I go with one that doesn’t have a good reputation. submitted by /u/therealmelaniatrump [link] [comments]Read Morer/HealthInsurance