Variety of things that are currently on my mind

[textileowl]

This is mostly going to be spewing thoughts, as I am currently waiting for UPS and Fedex to show up with their deliveries.

Health Insurance - I've been dropped from my mom's health insurance because I graduated, it is only a matter of time before my dad's is gone too so it is time to do research and find something that works for me. My job is not full time and doesn't look to be becoming so in the near future. It is steady at about 32- 35 hours a week but I have a feeling it may drop back down to 25 in the winter when we don't have quite as much work. And while Jeff's insurance does allow for domestic partners, it would pull a hell of a lot of money out of his paycheck and it isn't the most useful insurance. I must admit to having been spoiled for health insurance, between the military and Mom being a nurse at Good Sam, we had pretty awesome insurance there for a while, at least as far as I could tell. I perused the eHealthInsurance website this morning and its little algorithm came up with 4 options for someone my age and ability to pay etc. So now  to figure out what I want and need for coverage. The monthly prices aren't bad, all under $100, copays are $25-35, deductibles are all $2500, but wow there is a lot I don't understand.


Garb

Penelope - I'm nearly finished with the new farthingale, having put the last of the boning channels and the ruffle on last night. All that needs to be done today is put in the boning. Next up - seeing how much of the skirt can be turned into sleeves and side panels, as well as seeing how well the bodice fits with the new stays. I have just over a motnh to finish this. Eep!

Marcon 45 - Since hearing that seanan  is the Filk GOH next year, I've decided to go to Marcon and this, of course, requires new costumes. The theme next year is zombies... and while I like the idea of zombies I don't want to dress up as one. So the thought then is mad scientist or doctor. White vinyl lab coat, green corset of yet to be determined design and some sort of pants. Skirts aren't very pratical in the lab while dealing with zombies, nor in the process of attacking/running away from them. Maybe some sort of pinstripe trouser. Jeff always asks about the character.... and I suck at character development  so I'm going to try and work on that. After all, people will expect personas if you are cosplaying.  I've also thought about being Rose Marshall, from Pretty Little Dead Girl, but I haven't been able to find a description for her so I'm not certain I could pull it off. I must delve some more before I decide. If not, a pretty 50's style dead girl will still work.

Marigold - This is what I wore to Faire this year. I like the pieces on their own, but they didn't quite create a whole outfit when together. I felt really out of place beside Sylvain so I need to make something that fits beter with Jeff's satyr .... I didn't realize this until I started writing this post so I don't really have ideas yet.... And more on that character development issue.

I think that's it for this post... there are other things to discuss but not right now

Comments

[sbuchler.livejournal.com]

I work in health insurance right now (designing insurance plans actually), do you have specific questions?

A $2500 deductible sounds rather high to me, given that you're young and therefore relatively cheap to insure... I don't know if eHealthInsurance lets you play with the benefits much, but you can probably lower your rates a lot if you are willing to take a plan that doesn't cover maternity/childbirth (assuming your state allows such plans). It's the most expensive thing about insuring young women, and you could probably trade for a much lower deductible if you can waive that coverage.

[textileowl.livejournal.com]

If I knew what to ask I would probably have specific questions... mostly it is information overload and trying to decipher what really is needed and what isn't.

eHealthInsurance does let you play with the benefits. It walks you through the amounts you're willing to pay for the deductible, co-pay, hospital visits, etc and then gives you an array of choices. I haven't played with it a whole lot, just enough to get an idea, and since you mentioned that the deductible sounded high, I can go back and choose a lower deductible and see what comes up.

I am leaning towards a plan that allows adding on benefits when needed, such as the maternity/child birth, just in case I'm still using the same insurance when needed. But you are correct, I'm not planning on needing that coverage anytime soon. The website also gave the option for preventative care versus just emergencies (I don't remember the terminology), and I chose preventative because I would much rather catch something sooner rather than later and need an annual exam to get my birth control.

I have very little sense as to how this system works. Ah the joys of being an adult. Next year will be auto insurance...

[sbuchler.livejournal.com]

You'll have to renew your insurance every year, so being able to add on coverage is less imporant for something like maternity coverage (imo) - usually you have plenty of warning that you'll need it. I wouldn't pay extra to be able to add stuff on later. Also, if you can help it, I wouldn't think of individual insurance coverage as a long-term solution. In 5-7 years your rates are going to start to go up significantly.

The deductible is the amount you'll have to pay before your insurance will cover anything (well, they might cover preventive services before the deductible, but... not a doctor's visit 'cause you caught step and need drugs). Ideally, you'd want to have most of the deductible amount available in the bank (or via a credit card - which is how I first had debt problems, I don't recomend that as an emergency funds source :-S) each year - 'cause the insurance will not cover that amount.

The emergancy-only option is for people like my husband who only visit the doctor if they're dying of something AND I've brow-beaten him into it. :-S

hope this helped and didn't overwhelm you :-) Best of luck!

[textileowl.livejournal.com]

Ok, just went through and played with the numbers a bit. If I go with a $1000 deductible, my monthly payments run from 120 - almost 200 a month instead.

So is it better to have a smaller deductible but higher monthly payment? I haven't looked at my budget yet but anything higher than 150 is probably going to be out of my price range.

I have to think about dental insurance as well.... ick but I haven't had a good exam in almost three years and all the dental work in the last two have all been emergencies. Ugh, my brain hurts.

[sbuchler.livejournal.com]

So is it better to have a smaller deductible but higher monthly payment?

Depends on how well you handle money. For me, if I have money, I spend it. Therefor it's hard for me to make sure I have enough money to cover the full deductible (or even just one expensive doctors visit - in Cleveland a yearly physical costs around $250, which you have to pay out-of-your-pocket if you haven't already spent the $1000 (or whatever amount) towards your deductible yet. Visits to diagnose strep or a bladder infection or something minor like that could be more. Kinda depends on the going rate in your area and the discounts your insurance company has negotiated - neither of which indivuduals have much control over :-S.) Anyway, 'cause I'm bad with money, I tend to choose higher (but predictibable) monthly payments so I don't get whamed with unexpected expenses I can't afford. My husband is the exact oppisite. He's very good at saving money and would rather earn interest on the money himself rather then letting the insurance company have it right away - thus he chooses higher dedictible plans with lower monthly rates.

If it makes you feel any better - dental coverage is much cheaper then general health insurance.

Honestly, I suggest you do the math for how much the individual plan will cost you both per month vs. how much it would cost Jeff to put you on his plan, and consider re-imbursing him for the amount (also remember to compare the deductibles on the two potential plans). It's likly to be cheaper to be put onto his plan. The disadvantage there, is (1) you're tied to his plan and if your relationship is rocky that's bad and (2) you don't have control of what the benifits are - but now that you've looked a little at what you can afford, his benifits might not seem so bad. (I'm guessing about that one, of course :-) ). Another down side of this possible solution is that he might not be allowed to put you on his plan until it comes up for it's yearly renewal, unless you have what my state's law calls a "qualifying life event" e.g. one of you loses your job, you have a baby, or you get married/divorsed. (In my state, graduating college doesn't count - though it might in yours, he could ask his company's HR person.)

[textileowl.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for being so helpful! I'm glad I have people on my friends list who know the answers to the questions I ask, it's awesome.

I will do the math, it's going to have to happen pretty soon as my prescription is coming up on its last refill pretty quickly. Jeff and I are committed, so rocky issues are things we'll work through. His renewal was in April, as we found out when he had a root canal and his insurance was "in processing" or something similar, so that would have to wait but I would like for him to find a better job before next April....the current one is very crummy. But a good point to look at his benefits.

Thanks again for all the information, it has helped make things make sense!

[sbuchler.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome! Good luck!