How the Health Insurance System is Screwing People (and by "us" I mean "Me and Kim")

[digitaldiscipline]

Not directly, but the health insurance system is not making me very fucking happy, in a very personal way.

K, as most of you know, has been temping since her tenure at LPZ ended. She's been on COBRA in the interim, which is, as probably fewer of you know, FUCKING EXPENSIVE.

Fortunately, I work for a company that's cool enough to offer Domestic Partner benefits. Open enrollment, unfortunately, happens in November, but if you have what is considered a "qualifying event" during the year, you can add your partner at any time during the year.

Not being able to afford COBRA isn't a qualifying event. So, in theory, K could get health insurance through my job, but in practice, she can't. Which means her options are: be uninsured, or go broke paying for insurance.

The invisible hand of the market, as evidenced by all those independent insurance commercials that have proliferated? They're the next thing to fucking useless, because they don't offer stuff like, you know, dental coverage, or they have a shitty prescription plan (if they have one at all).

Anyone who says we don't need to correct some serious goddamned shortcomings in the way medical coverage is provided in these here United States is cordially invited to KISS MY ASS.

Comments

[etcet.livejournal.com]

Well, I have perfectly good insurance through my job. The problem is, I can't easily get K on it in a timely manner. We have a nine-month donut hole between now and the first of the year, when adding her in November's enrollment period would take effect.