I am increasingly grateful for the health coverage my family gets through my work - and increasingly afraid to ever leave my job for fear of losing what is now a privilege in our country. Yet another reason for this workin' mama to stay at the same desk for 20 years. I read this horrific story in NYT Op-Ed the other day about a woman with good health insurance whose daughter fell very ill and she hit her max coverage for the year. Oh, I guess we'll just do that surgery next year when we have coverage again, honey. Arggghhh.
Now I'm a researcher at heart, so the annual health benefits Open Season doesn't scare me. In fact, I kind of like comparing all the plans, the costs, the coverage. The 'does it include orthodontics/do we care right now?' questions. But truth be told, even though I do actually look to see what plan has higher annual limits, it doesn't really mean anything to me, because the numbers have little meaning without direct experience (which thankfully I don't bring to the table...this year).
Mamas, do you know your annual limits? Does that factor into your health care decisions? It does mine, but in a sort of abstract I-hope-this-never-matters kind of way. But it did matter for Sandra Hightower, the woman in the NYT article, and her 15-year old daughter who got cancer. Not a pretty picture, mamas, but another angle on the health care debacle in our country. Another reason to make this issue a big one next November. I know one thing for sure - this Open Season I'm gonna pay a little more attention to the annual limits in the plans I consider. You?
Comments