Health Insurance

We had hoped that Obama's healthcare reform would help us with our health insurance needs. Every year, the premium goes up and the coverage decreases. It's now to the point where we might be better off having only the most catastrophic coverage since we spend more in premiums than we ever incur in actual medical costs. This is combined with the need to have a second policy for France. Our US policies don't cover us outside the US.

We've been buying French insurance for a few years that covers the essentials for our trips. We've actually had to use it once, but, again, the premium costs exceed any medical costs that we've incurred.

So, I'm in the process of looking at the whole thing from a different point of view. Knowing that we need insurance in both places doesn't mean that we have to continue doing the same old thing. I'm investigating worldwide coverage through the insurer who has done our travel health in the past.

This is a lot of work, though. Analyzing co-pays, maximum lifetimes, exclusions, pre-existing conditions...It's all so complicated.

This has been on my desk for almost two weeks and I"m almost ready to take the step toward paying much less money to Anthem. I'll still be covered, but only for a REAL illness, not the everyday visit to the doctor for a sore throat. Typically I don't go to the doctor for that anyway. We'll see.