Purse Shopping

Mission: To find a new purse.
Specifics: Outside pocket for my phone and built in wallet. Not too large.
Price: Up to $35
Reason: My trusty purse of 4 + plus years (on and off) broke - the strap pulled right out.
Outcome: Crashed and burned.

Okay really now, I have been to 7 stores today with absolutely no luck finding a new purse. I don't need something that is going to hold the kitchen sink, just the kids' emergency medicines, hand sanitizer, my phone and has a built in wallet. I am so frustrated... I have spent the better part of the last 3 days looking. Grr.... I guess its back to the big, bulky suitcase until I can find something functional for me.

Medical Benefits

Can someone please explain to me why I pay over $1200 a month for medical benefits just to pay a $500 deductible, then to pay for 20% of my bills after I've reached my deductible? Keep in mind that the deductible is for each member of my family. I'm so angry about the cost of medical benefits.

My son has illness-induced-asthma, which basically means that any time he gets a cold it quickly and easily turns into an infection in his lungs and can literally progress to pneumonia in a matter of 48 hours. It is a scary thing, especially before we knew why this occurred and how to help prevent it from progressing so quickly. So, he has a cold and a nasty sounding cough right now. Luckily he had a regular check up with his allergist on Friday, copay $20. He already takes 3 maintenance medications to keep his symptoms under control, those cost about $75 a month, just for our copay. Now since he has a cold, he is taking an additional steroid, $40 copay, and breathing treatments with two separate medications twice a day, each with a $25 copay. Thanks to one of my friends for letting me borrow her old nebulizer (I'm not sure how to spell that) to give him these treatments. But I really need to get my own machine, which can't even be billed to the insurance, so I have to pay for it out of pocket, then try to file a claim to be reimbursed for it. What is this out of pocket expense? A measly $130. So basically, I have just given almost my entire monthly grocery budget to the pharmacy ($75+$40+$50=$165). Now, we aren't including the medications that my husband needs to stay healthy or the medications that I take to stay healthy or the fluoride supplements that both of my children take for strong bones and teeth ($45+$10+$30=$85).

So, where is my $1200? I understand that these out-of-pocket expenses that I am paying are only a portion of the entire bill . However, the insurance company is contracted with providers with how much they "allow" the provider to bill them. After reducing their cost by about 40% (this is what I have observed on my bills), they pay their 80% of that, then the provider bills me the rest. I just don't get it. Now, this month I have used my insurance at least twice as much as on average. On average I only have about $150 in pharmaceuticals. But this month, I have $165, for Taylor's medicine +$55, for Josh's and my prescriptions +$30, for the kids fluoride +$60, doctor copays for this month =$310. So, say hypothetically, that $310 is 20% of this month's total bill, that means that the insurance company paid $1240 on behalf of my family. Like I said, this is about twice as much as we usually spend, due to illness. But, I have paid $1200 per month for 10 months this year, totalling $12,000 so far this year. Three times this year I have incurred approximately $1550 in bills, equalling $4650, plus $750 per month for the other 7 months (assuming 80%, insurance company's prescription costs), adding to $5250. So, the insurance company has paid, on behalf of my family, $9900 this year. But we have paid $12,000 is premiums this year, so as I see it, I still have $2100 that I haven't used of my premium. So why can't the stupid company pay for the nebulizer? I don't know.

I understand, given my logic above, that we are awfully close to meeting our premiums for this year. But consider that for many years, Josh and I have paid premiums of around $600 per month without incurring even $300 in costs in a year. It just doesn't balance out.

I really hope that should Obama win this election, he can follow through on his campaign promise to reform the health care system in this country. Especially when you consider that 75% of all bankruptcies filed in this country are middle class Americans with health insurance, like myself, buried with medical bills (prior to the economic crisis and mortgage crisis). It just doesn't seem right.

Politics are So Disheartening

We went before the County School Board yesterday to appeal for Taylor's transfer to the other district. It was very disheartening to hear the local Board President get in front of the county members and tell bold face lies. She did not tell 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 lies! And was caught red-handed in front of the County Board! Oops! While watching this was amusing and humorous, it was also disheartening that even at the local school district level, politicians have such a blatant lack of integrity, claiming to want what is best for the children, yet acting in ways that will only increase the district's pocketbook. These are innocent children who count on adults to speak for them until they have a voice of their own to be heard! Why in the world would you want to do anything but act in their best interests? I can't fathom it. Thank goodness that the county members: A) identified that she was lying and B) acted in the best interests of the children.

What was our outcome? Our appeal was "remanded" to the local school board, as we provided additional information to the county that was not at our disposal for the first local meeting. So, what does this mean for us? Well, we have to submit a new request to the local district's board. Should they deny our request again, we will have to file another appeal with the county. If the county upholds the denial, we are stuck.

I, however, refuse to allow my children to go to school in a district that is more concerned about its finances and only views my children as revenue streams. The district will not get one red cent for my children! Should the denial get upheld, I will homeschool my children until we can relocate within the preferred district's boundaries. I will NOT put my children through changing schools. At least homeschool does not require any changes, as the status quo will continue - the kids being home with me. Furthermore, it is not as if I am not qualified to teach in a classroom (I'm only missing my credential), much less my own children, considering that I have a Masters degree in Teaching!

As a sidenote... The current local district superintendent has been sued personally and her previous school district not once, but twice, for sexual discrimination (both cases were settled, hmm, guilty?). One was for discriminating against a 7th grade girl who claimed she was a lesbian, then was not allowed to attend PE because she would be changing with the other girls. The other was for wrong termination based on discrimination, I'm not sure of the specifics. I find such discriminatory actions so offensive, and I'm not even a part of the community being discriminated against!

Angry, much? Yes I am angry. I am an angry at the gall of some people. I am angry about the lack of honor and integrity at every level of politics. (This is compounded by the fact that the winner of our local County Supervisor race, ran despite making a deal with the incumbent that he would not run against, nor would he run until the incumbent resigned or retired! He had made the same deal and renigged on it with the previous mayor as well!) How in the world do we teach our children to do what is right and to act with integrity when the majority of the public role models show such disregard for common values. The most frustrating thing about this whole thing is that I am powerless to stand up against these people. I can only control how I respond to their lack of ethical resposibilty. Rest assured, I will continue to react with intergrity, honor and moral and ethical responsibility. After all, I have to look at myself in the mirror every morning and like the person that I see looking back. Can they say that?