So I came to a disappointing realization last night: DH only has his insurance for 9 months out of the year. Thanks to union, district, and state laws/budgets he is fired every year as of July 1. Every year he is able to get his insurance back by October 1 by substituting. So for 3 months he uses COBRA to get his insurance. So far this is not a problem.
The problem is that I'm not eligible for COBRA because my university offers me insurance. This leaves me relying on the Student Health Center for my medical needs, not good. The service there is mediocre at best.
Now this is all fine and livable in general. I can handle this under normal circumstances, except DH and I want to get pregnant this summer. (Note any child we had could be added to COBRA.) So here are the questions running through my head:
1) Do I get pregnant July - September and rely on Student Health for my first Trimester?
2) If DH is rehired before July 1 this year and doesn't lose insurance (yay!), do I count on this happening the year after?
3) Do I stop trying in October expecting DH will not have insurance next summer? Do I have the will power to do this?
4) Can DH get another job so that he doesn't have to worry about this as much? Should he?
California, you have 2 choices: either raise taxes so my husband can keep his job or find him a new job. I know this is a bit defeatist, but it's the only solution I can think of right now.
Disappointing Realization
March 2nd, 2011 at 04:27 pm
March 2nd, 2011 at 04:38 pm 1299083915
I would double-check to see if pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition under your DH's insurance. If you have insurance and do conceive, your husband's company might not want to cover it because you were insured at the time under a different coverage umbrella.
March 2nd, 2011 at 05:51 pm 1299088284
http://www.insure.com/articles/healthinsurance/pregnancy.html
I guess I should have specified that he is a teacher so this is a school district, not a company plan we are talking about.
March 2nd, 2011 at 06:53 pm 1299092020
Even in private industry I have never been offered decent insurance plan through an employer. We have always had private insurance.
You can time a pregnancy, but you can't time other catastrophic medical bills (car accidents?, etc.). I would seriously consider private insurance coverage.
March 2nd, 2011 at 07:27 pm 1299094066
Now here is a question. when I waive my graduate health insurance, I cannot get it back until the start of the next quarter. When I've waived the insurance, do I count as "eligible"?