Monday, May 20, 2013
Wouldn't It Be Nice
I left this past weekend open because I expected something to come along and fill it and if that didn't happen then I have a million little things that need to be done. I was assuming it would be dog related but it turned out to be parent related. My mother was feeling ill and ended up visiting the emergency room. I went to meet her at the hospital and took my dad to lunch while mom was getting an MRI. By the time we returned, Mom was feeling better and the MRI results were negative. I am going to start calling her illness "moving-itus" because it seems to happen when she is just about to move. My parents are moving from their apartment in to a townhouse next weekend. You have probably guessed what I will be doing for my Memorial Day weekend. That's right, helping with the unpacking.
I did the usual things this weekend, laundry, made cookies, took a nap. It was quite nice. I am trying to get up the nerve to tell my boss that I want to go to hourly instead of salary and only work 3 days a week. He is in Asia at the moment so I have time to think about all of the pro's and con's. Since I am pretty sure I will lose my health insurance and have to buy my own, I want to make sure I don't have any big appointments coming up. I do have a skin cancer appointment in August so I am going to wait for that and if it is all clear then I will go ahead with my plan. I found a health savings account for me and my nephew for $130 a month. The deductible is $12,000 per family. I have that much in savings now. I rarely come close to $5,000 in doctor bills even with paying cash for my out-of-network skin cancer surgeon but there is always a chance that something will happen.
The reason that I want to ask to work 3 days a week is that my original plan, to save up enough money to last until my nephew is out of high school, is taking too long. With that plan, I wouldn't have enough money until next April and that would mean I would have to struggle through another school year of full time work. I'm really getting tired of not having enough time for everything. I am constantly shuffling and borrowing time from other responsibilities. The only thing I am worried about is my work environment turning hostile for not being a team player. But by working 3 days a week I won't be leaving my employer high and dry and they can use this opportunity to hire someone new who they can train to help more in the engineering lab which is what they want me to do but I'm not very good at it. I will keep doing the data entry and the new person can fill in the gaps. It sounds like the perfect solution to me. Now I just have to convince my boss.
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4 comments:
Daizy, if you switch to working 3 days a week and lose your eligibility in your employer's group health benefits, you can go on COBRA for up to 18 months which would be enough to hold you over until the PPACA ("Obamacare") kicks in next year and you sign up for one of the exchanges. COBRA might be costly but it is probably cheaper than an individual policy.
Make sure you investigate your company's benefits program to see if you lose any other benefits or see them reduced. (When I reduced my weekly work hours twice, in 2001 and 2007, I lost or had reduced many benefits including group health - I had to contribute more of the premiums the first time and became ineligible the second time.)
Individual insurance in Arizona is pretty cheap, at least it is for a major medical policy. For both of us it is only $140 (I was mistaken when I said $130 in the post). The last time I was laid off, COBRA was around $500 a month. That's insane. I got individual insurance between jobs for around $60. I never used it so I don't know how good it was. I'm afraid of Obamacare. I have heard that the rates will go up but the coverage will be better and that there will be a government subsidy. Supposedly, the price is supposed to come out the same after the subsidy but with better coverage. Guess I will have to wait and see. I hear we will know the cost before October.
For me $140 sounds expensive but I guess I do pay for healthcare through my national insurance payments. along with education and welfare.It just doesnt notice to me as they take it before I see it. :)
I wonder, Lizzie, how much you actually do pay for healthcare. It would be interesting to know.
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