Job update

sanae78

Thanks for the job vibes.    I didn't get to interview on Thursday because the manager was out sick.  She called me Monday and said that the PT days position was filled internally.    So all she has is per diem nights.  I'm interviewing on 4/7.  In the meantime, I have to decide if I want to take it if I get it.  Per diem I'd only have to work a minimum of 3 nights/month but I wouldn't get benefits.  The pay would be much higher hourly, though.  We're considering just buying our own insurance.  I really want to have more time for my family and to focus on photography.  We'll be fine financially, but I just worry that something might happen and whatever health insurance we buy won't be nearly as good as what we have now.  I could just pay for COBRA, but it's ridiculously expensive as you can imagine.  Then again, if I work per diem just to pay for COBRA my 3 nights would cover it.  I keep going back and forth and can't decide.  I don't even have a gut feeling about it because I have apprehension about both possible decisions.  What to do, what to do...

lelekay

MH bought his own insurance before we were married, and he hated it.  It was expensive and still didn't cover many things.  Honestly, the main reason I work now is for our family insurance.  I have excellent insurance though my job (I paid a whopping $10 copay for having Henry).  We could do without my paycheck, but I don't want to give up my insurance.  It is definitely a tough decision!  Good luck!

inamra

Thanks for the update! I've been wondering how it went...hmmm, that seems like a tough decision. I would maybe do some research on how decent of a plan you can get paying how much you'd like to out of pocket. Of course, if you did COBRA it would be just like your original plan but I thought they only extend it up to like a year after you leave your job or something? Or did I remember that wrong or maybe it's different between different plans? That may be something to think about if it's only temporary, esp with a LO in the picture. Good luck with your decision!!

MauiWedding08

sorry to here you didn't get the job you were hoping for, and now the big decision you are faced with.  good luck, change is never good!

While you have the time you should look into plans you would be eligible for and compare to what you are willing to pay for coverage and then non-covered expenses.  For us a group health plan through my work is the only way to go, but we declined DH getting a secondary policy through his work because it was another OOP expense to buy into, didn't offer great coverage, and his employer was willing to raise his salary instead of paying for benefits. 

I'm sure you will figure something out!!

sanae78

lelekay:

MH bought his own insurance before we were married, and he hated it.  It was expensive and still didn't cover many things.  Honestly, the main reason I work now is for our family insurance.  I have excellent insurance though my job (I paid a whopping $10 copay for having Henry).  We could do without my paycheck, but I don't want to give up my insurance.  It is definitely a tough decision!  Good luck!

This is totally us.  But really, we end up paying $330/month for our insurance now anyways.  We could get an okay plan (granted with high deductibles) for about the same cost.  Or we could get pretty much the same insurance (just without maternity coverage for 12 months) for about $850.  I guess if I work 3 days a month I'd cover that and then some, plus we have some rental income.  Gah.  I'll let you all know what I decide!  Thanks again!

Married2MrWright

sanae78:

lelekay:

MH bought his own insurance before we were married, and he hated it.  It was expensive and still didn't cover many things.  Honestly, the main reason I work now is for our family insurance.  I have excellent insurance though my job (I paid a whopping $10 copay for having Henry).  We could do without my paycheck, but I don't want to give up my insurance.  It is definitely a tough decision!  Good luck!

This is totally us.  But really, we end up paying $330/month for our insurance now anyways.  We could get an okay plan (granted with high deductibles) for about the same cost.  Or we could get pretty much the same insurance (just without maternity coverage for 12 months) for about $850.  I guess if I work 3 days a month I'd cover that and then some, plus we have some rental income.  Gah.  I'll let you all know what I decide!  Thanks again!

MH and Libby have private insurance and I looked into when I was worried about losing my job. No one offers maternity coverage here so you basically pay cash if you get PG. But you can set up a HSA and use that to pay for expenses.

That said, I did have private insurance when I was self-employed and the premiums were about $200/mo. AND I had a $5K deductible. So it pretty much sucked, but I was covered for catastrophic events. Now that I have GREAT health insurace provided by my employer 90% (I basically pay $40/mo) I am SO grateful. Sadly, it would be $500/mo. to add Libby and $800/mo. to add her and J, so that's why they have their own policies. We're actually looking forward to the J has his RN and will be eligible for employer-paid insurance.

You might check out eInsurance.com for quotes for yourself as well as for a family quote and see what they offer. As for COBRA, they only offer it for 18-months. But if you think you'll find something better in less than that, it might be worth paying for while you transition. Good luck!

MrsZiz

I didn't have time to read the others responses but I know all over Wisconsin and Missouri (where I'm from) per diems are the first to get cut. We've had per diems on our floor that haven't worked ANY shifts for over a month! So be mindful of that, I'd hate for you to take it and not get to work at all which then would create issues for paying for your cobra. I thought about taking per diem or even PT but in the Wisconsin area it's not wise because most of the per diems aren't working at all and then PT's are the second to get cut... it's frustrating because I'd love to cut back!

mrspresley

MrsZiz:

I didn't have time to read the others responses but I know all over Wisconsin and Missouri (where I'm from) per diems are the first to get cut. We've had per diems on our floor that haven't worked ANY shifts for over a month!

wow, that sucks! you definitely don't want to be stuck in that kind of situation....

i have no idea what it is like in Vegas, perhaps the market is better than in WI... but i switched to per diem work after i came off my maternity leave and it's been great, for me at least.  if you want to talk about it more, just email me

sanae78

Thanks for all the feedback. @Lori - I am thinking I'll just do cobra until we move back to Hawaii and I start working there. So it should be less than 18 months for sure. I figured it would be like 6 months to a year. I may just do cobra for me and kaya and have B get his own insurance since he never goes to the doctor anyways. @ Sarah - the hospital i applied at is always short on nights so i dont think i'd get canceled. My coworker actually works per diem there so she told me how it is. They actually do mandatory on call or overtime for their full timers and part timers. But I'd be ok with getting canceled. We actually could afford cobra but would rather not pay all that. I would just work per diem to pay for it so we wouldn't have to dip into our savings. As it is now, I sign up to get called off EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT I am scheduled and it rarely happens because we'll get a sick call or someone will have to float to post partum, peds or picu. We don't have a choice - we have to float. Is it like that for you guys?