Ouch! I just got hit over the head with a huge health insurance hike!
According to the newspapers it seems I’m not alone. Why do they have to make this procedure so daunting and complicated? I recently got a letter from my health care provider. It starts off with a friendly “Hello Eileen, Thank you very much for being a Blue Shield member’. It then goes on to say ‘ In this years open enrollment we are excited to introduce our new generation of health plans’. I bet they are excited, as it seems they are offering me less coverage and increasing my monthly payment by 23%, bringing it to $416.72 a month; which I’m told is reasonable! The irony is that if I chose to earn slightly less from some of my freelance work, this would qualify me for subsidies and I would still be better off financially than paying my monthly premium. So really the government are trying to encourage me to work less, pay less in taxes and take more from the state – which doesn’t make sense at all.
If you are still dithering over if you really need it, or are using the popular “I will go back to Britain if I need to see a doctor’ method, then you might want to think again. As if your appendix bursts there won’t be time to book a flight. Same if you get hit by a car. Plus, I hear that doctors are starting to check your eligibility in the UK, and if you have not been making contributions for the last five years you might just receive a bill.
If you would like to continue paying your National Insurance whilst overseas visit www.gov.uk/national-insurance.
In the meantime, whilst you are here you do need something, even if it is just for Emergency Care. Open enrollment starts on Nov 1st and decisions should be made by December 15th. This is the small window to change or sign up for a health insurance policy.
The introduction of Obamacare meant no one could get denied or dropped due to medical history. However, the flaw in this new format of ‘no one being denied’ is that you may not be refused coverage but you can be charged an exorbitant amount for the privilege of it – and we now cannot opt out, as if we do we will be charged a fine!
Covered California (www.coveredca.com) is a great place to start to see if you qualify for tax credits and reduced healthcare rates, but if all this is gobbledygook to you and you can’t tell your co-pays from your deductibles, we have another option in the form of fellow Brit Adam Beach! He is actually a financial advisor and part of that involves protecting investments. If his clients don’t have insurance they could lose everything with just one accident or emergency. So he became our go-to man for our all our insurance needs. He has helped hundreds of Brits in LA members for the last six years or so. You can check out his website www.beachfinancialgroup.com or drop us a line at info@britsin.la and we will put you in touch. I know it is a dull subject but I meet so many members who think they can get away with not thinking about this, then come to us in tears because they’ve been hit by emergency bills running into the thousands…or tens of thousands.
On a lighter note we have two new hosts joining us next Tuesday November 1st for Pub Quiz at the Pikey. Claire & Louise will be your quizmasters for the evening, and then we have Sandro Monetti back on November 15th. Come join us for either or both – if you need a team to join get there for 7.45pm and the games start at 8pm. Cash prizes, gift certificates and raffle prizes all up for grabs and it is a great chance to meet some of your fellow members. Visit www.britsin.la for full details. Hope to see some of you there!
Last Quiz before we get a new president!
Cheers!
Eileen
