Family Health Insurance

A friend of mine recently became unemployed and as a result he has lost his family health insurance. He wanted to buy the COBRA insurance through his company, but even with the government supplement that they were giving him, he just couldn't afford to pay the premiums. With his unemployment check, they will barely be able to get buy, but when he went to social services to apply, they said that he had too many assets because he owns a van, which by the way they need to get their family around town, and they are counting the value of the van, even though he didn't pay for it, someone at his church gave it to him and his family as a gift. In any case, he is still looking for a family health insurance policy, and although there is insurance agent marketing all over the place telling you that they have the best prices this insurance is still out of their range.

Last week his daughter became sick, and was running a fever and he was very concerned. He said he had to wait and see how she was before deciding to take her to the doctor's office, because he really couldn't afford it. His wife told me on the side, that he has been extremely depressed and frustrated and has been out looking for a job every day, trying to take care of his family. She said that they never used their health insurance that much, but it was nice to know that if they needed it, it was there for them. She said she could take anyone in the family to the doctor for only a $5 co pay and that was worth the peace of mind of being able to get them checked out and know that they were okay. She said when she called her doctor's office and told them that they didn't have insurance any more, they told her that she would have to pay cash at the time of the visit and that the office visit alone was $70.00. She says they don't have any savings left and she is worried that if John doesn't get a job soon, that they are going to go under.