Interested in your opinion...(long sorry)
Ok, before I type this, let me just say that I'm not trying to start any kind of major debate or be thrown to the wolves for any decisions we have made. I'm just looking for some input on our options and tell me if I'm as crazy as some people are making me feel for the decision I'm trying to make. I'm throwing out some personal details here so please don't judge us too hard. Also, let me just say that just because of the way I feel, doesn't mean that I'm judging anyone that feels differently.
Here's the basic story. When DH lost his job a year ago the kids got medicaid for insurance. When he took this job here in Wilmington, the salary was such that the kids still qualify for medicaid. We chose to leave the kids on medicaid because the health insurance at his company is not the greatest. They offer a 1 deductible plan...a 10K a year deductible for a family. No co-pays or anything, you just pay out of pocket until you reach the 10K and then they'll start paying. No prescription drugs are covered, or dental, or vision, period, at all, NEVER! So, if we put them on his plan we would have to pay $2500 a year in premiums for the kids and then pay 10K out of pocket before getting any coverage.
Now, let me just say that I am NOT ok with medicaid being our permanent solution. We just don't have the money in savings (after DH being unemployed for 7 months, our savings was GONE...not to mention our house in SC hasn't sold yet) to cover that kind of deductible. So, our plan has been for me to find a job that provides benefits for the kids. I am not ok choosing not to work and letting my kids stay on medicaid. I, personally, feel like medicaid is meant to be a temporary solution when faced with circumstances beyond your control (losing job, etc).
Anyway, our choices are....me work PT in the evenings/weekends or to find a full time job that offers benefits and put the kids in daycare.
If I chose the PT job.... I would have to bring home $12,500 from a part time job JUST to cover the premiums and the deductible, plus extra for prescription drugs, dental and vision services. Is this even possible for a PT evenings/weekend job?
I've been trying for a FT job that provides benefits, but it seems like most people in our lives tell me I'm crazy because I'll basically be turning my entire paycheck over to daycare. But, I feel like if the job provides health, dental, vision and drug coverage, that it makes it worthwhile. But, we're looking at anywhere between $18K-22K a year for daycare. So, how much would I even have to make to bring home that much to pay for daycare (after taking out taxes and benefits)?
For what its worth, I have offered to look for a 3rd shift FT job that would provide benefits, but allow us not to have to put the kids in daycare. But, DH pointed out that even if I attempted to do that, that I would be exhausted most of the time, and the care I provided to the kids during the day would probably suffer because of that.
Also, we have looked at private insurance for the kids...but in the last few months we've had one child diagnosed with partial epilepsy and one with asthma....the rates we've been quoted for private health insurance are just CRAZY! I'd have to work full time just to pay those rates, which puts us right back where we're at now.
SO...is there another option that I'm overlooking? If you were in this situation, what would you do? I think I've about worried myself into a stress attack just trying to figure this all out, especially trying to figure out all the numbers and how much I'd have to make to just simply break even after paying day care.
Re: Interested in your opinion...(long sorry)
my opinion is that i'm ok w/ people being on medicad if they are not abusing it (which i don't feel that you are).
i think that you are doing the best you can for your kids. and honestly, i feel that if you get a job, you are going to pretty much devote your entire salary to childcare and insurance..... and in my opinion, that's just not worth it!
the time you will have to spend away from your kids, i just don't feel like it's worth it at all. that's why i had to quit my job after noah was born. my entire paycheck would have gone to childcare and insurance and it's just not worth it to me! yes things are REALLY hard right now and in fact we are going to have to get medicad soon as well bc we can't afford his insurance. but like you, this is something that we view as only temporary until dh gets a job that has insurance we can afford.
obviously i'm sure that once you have other options you will take it. and you are using it as a temporary fix for your current situation. its not like you set out to use it permanently and i think that's important that you've acknowledged that. i don't think you should feel bad at all.
I'm thinking there are a lot of missing pieces here that would help people understand the situation a little clearer.
For instance, I guess I assumed (wrongly) that your DH's company would be buying your house in SC or at least helping ot sell it.
Secondly, I was also assuming (wrongly again) that by him taking this job and you uprooting your family it was financially worth it to the point that many of these worries would be gone.
I guess ultimately I am just confused. It sounds like you guys will soon be worse off by making this move than if he had possibly kept looking where you were while on UE.
Is that correct? Are you paying for two places to live?
That just sounds like a really tough situation. Hopefully you can find something soon. I personally have never considered Wilmington a place of great wealth when it came to jobs. Can you wait tables or do something in the hospitality industry where you could do nights and weekends?
I do not think you are doing wrong. I totally understand your thoughts and think medicaid makes sense, when you wouldn't be bringing anything home after insurance and daycare.
This is sort of where we are with UE... if DH can't find a job making more then X, there is no reason for him to get a job bc he either would be making just enough for daycare or not enough at all. People may think badly... and he is looking for jobs... But he has to make a certain amount before applying...
After 7 months of unemployment, and no job offers in the area where we were living (for neither of us) we felt like we had no other choice then to take the job he was offered here. The unemployment he was receiving was no where near enough to pay the bills, we depleted our savings account and were blessed with help from outside sources when we needed it the most (God knows our needs and how to provide for them).
As for paying for 2 places to live...we had to rely on the bonus DH got at Christmas from his current company and our tax return (which is almost gone now) to make the mortgage payments while we're paying rent here. Thankfully we have a contract on the house and we're set to close on it on April 16, so that will no longer be a concern.
DH's company here has truly been a blessing to us...and I don't think he could have found a better company to work for. The only downside is the health insurance, but its a small company (less then 50 employees) and thats just the downside of working for a small company.
Other then the insurance issue, our financial worries will be over...once our house sells. We knew it would be a concern when we chose to move here, but our other choice was to continue sitting in SC with NO job. (Don't forget if you're on unemployment and you are offered a reasonable job and you refuse the job, then your UE benefits could be discontinued. So, there was the chance that if he said no to this job, we would have then been stuck with no job and no unemployment income). We knew the insurance at his company wasn't great, so we planned to look into private insurance and/or I find a job with benefits. What we weren't expected was partial epilepsy and asthma diagnosis-es that caused the rates for private insurance companies to skyrocket.
We have no doubt about our decision to move here. We honestly feel like this is right where our family is supposed to be right now. God is using us for many things here that we never could have done if we had stayed in SC. So, we know without a doubt that we are right where we need to be. I'm just trying to figure out the insurance side of things.
First off, I don't think it is realistic to work a ft job 3rd shift and take care of 3 small children during the week unless you found one that was Thurs night, Fri night, Sat nigh so your dh could do most of the work with the kids during the day.
Second, I did some quick math... in order to bring home $12,500 you'd need to make around $16,000 (I did bring home 80%) which is around $300 per week @ $10 an hour that is 30 hours... so you'd need a pt job that pays at least $15 per hour for it to be 20 hours a week.. .I would think those are hard to find.
I would keep the kids on medicare and continue to look for full time work that will provide benefits. It may take 3 months, 6 months or a year to find but until then you have something (which imo is better than nothing) You are not abusing it, that is what it is there for.
And lastly, I will continue to keep your family in my prayers. I can't even begin to imagine how draining this all must be. Hugs!
Well it sounds like things are working out for you then. Once the house sells and you guys are in a better spot financially I'd make plans to put the kids on your DH's insurance next time open enrollment comes around.
10k is a lot of money but I'm guessing with your house sold you will have achance to put aside some money for the deductible. Also, are you sure that is the full deductible and not just the max OOP?
There are advantages to having insurance like the ability to get into more doctors as well as the negotiated rates. You have the opportunity to have insurance for your family albeit expensive but if that is truly what you want you should take it.
The monthly premiums aren't horrendous if I am reading your post right? $2,500 for the whole family for the year? That is about $200 a month.
If they had insurance you could continue to stay home with them and then not worry about any of it anymore especially since they seem to have lots of appts. etc. Working would probably be difficult for you anyway having to be out with them quite a bit.
Thanks for your input!
The problem with in-home providers is finding one with 3 open spots. I have called every in-home provider in the area, and none of them have more then 1 or 2 open spots. I just can't justify splitting the kids up and taking them to separate providers....that would kill our gas budget.
If I make more then $100 a month, then the kids don't qualify for medicaid anymore. Now, technically, they're not up for re-certification until October, so I could work PT and put us over the income limit until then and they would still have medicaid since they're approved for a year at a time. But, thats not something I'm comfortable doing (although it is what all the people that work in the medicaid office have told me to do....I just don't feel comfortable with that choice). So, its either work enough to pay childcare or pay for them on DHs insurance.
That is a lot. Will selling your house enable you to maybe put some of that aside? The premiums even if it is 6k a year are not totally crazy. That is $500 a month.
I think you are better off just working on setting the money aside to add all of you because with you getting a job it is going to make it harder on all of you in the long run.
That is a lot. Will selling your house enable you to maybe put some of that aside? The premiums even if it is 6k a year are not totally crazy. That is $500 a month.
I think you are better off just working on setting the money aside to add all of you because with you getting a job it is going to make it harder on all of you in the long run.
We're actually not making any money on selling our house...we were only in the house 2.5 years. The whole house thing has sucked BIG TIME! But, what do you do? We do have a health savings account and are putting some into that each month to HELP with the deductible. And thankfully that rolls over year to year, so as long as we can go a couple of years with no major illnesses or hospital visits, then we could build that up.
Maybe after DH has been with his company for a year, they'll give him a nice raise, LOL! I can hope, right?
I know it sucks, but I do know several people that work just for the health care benefits and most, if not all, of their salary goes to daycare. It is definitely not ideal, but it is just what they have to do to make things work and have health insurance. My DH has a similar health care situation at his work, he works for a small family owned business. It is not bad to add dependents (around $230 a month), but if I lost my job and had to go on his insurance, it would shoot up to over $750 a month, which is just not realistic on one salary. So, that being said, if I lose my job, I may have to find a job just for health benefits as well.
I also have a friend that works night shifts at the hospital four nights a week and watches her son during they day so he is not in daycare. It is tough, but they find a way to make it work.
I would continue to look for a FT job with benefits, I think that would be your best bet. But like the other posters said, I would also look for something PT in the meantime, like retail or waiting tables (when your DH will be home) just to have money coming in. I don't think there is anything wrong with your kids being on Medicaid because you all have been hit with some really hard times, but I would want a more permanent solution for the future. Best of luck to you!
Ditto this. Another way to think about working to pay daycare and healthcare costs is this: If you get a job that is maybe not your ideal situation now, it is still giving you work experience that you can apply to a better job in the future that will allow you a higher salary and better benefits. Plus, it will give your kids some time to socialize with other kids and get ready for school one day. I think that's a definite bonus!
I agree completely with this. This sounds like a stressful situation- I hope that things get easier for you guys once you finalize selling your old house! Hang in there.
I would keep looking for a FT job with benefits and possibly find a PT weekend job (when your DH can watch the children) and I think the above is a great idea. Why not take care of another child for some extra cash. You're already at home watching your own children so what's one more? Just a thought...... I hate you're having to go through this. Hugs!