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Market Gardener

Full time market gardener / health insurance coverage?

17 years ago

Fulltime market Gardener to me would be the ideal job, the problem would be how to cover the medical expenses in case of illness. Hospital bill and health insurance premium can be so costly. Any Fulltime Market Gardener with a solution to share?

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Comments (5)

dirtdigging101
17 years ago
right now on my cobra, next july not sure what, hope to be on wifes plan then but will have to see. this is a real problem for any small business or sole operator. reforms are needed in taxes and a national pool is needed that all can get into
until then talk to small gusiness groups in your area nd perhaps your tax guy he has lots of contact with others and will have a pulse on what others are doing

no easy answers here
staying health helps, i am diabetic and work hard to keep things in control
nnsgarden
17 years ago
My husband and I both used to be self-employed. What we ended up doing was buying a "catastrophy insurance" plan that was about 60 bucks a month for both of us. There was a 5k deductable, so it obviously didn't cover any routine doctor's visits, prescriptions, etc. However, we had the reassurance that if something awful were to happen (car accident, etc.) that it wouldn't send us flying into debt past 5k, because our insurance would kick in then. What I suggest is to find something along those lines, and then also pick an amount to sock away each month - whether you can afford 50, 100, even just 10 bucks. Keep putting that into an account, and then when you do get sick and have an unexpected doctor's visit, you can pull from that fund to pay for it out of pocket.

Another thing you may want to look into is an HSA that the government now offers. These were not available when my husband and I were self-employed, so I don't know terribly much about them, but from the little I know, it would have been a valid option for us.

The last thing is also that there are some Christian groups who offer plans in which it's a kind of "share and share alike" mentality. You put in however much you can afford based upon your income. Then, whoever in the group needs money, takes it, with the assumption that once they are better, they will pay into the system and allow someone else in need to take the money. One such system is called "Medi-care" or is it "medi-share"..hmm..one of those two! We had friends who were in a group like this for their family of 4. They seemed to be pleased. I don't remember which exact group they were part of, but it's another idea. I don't have any personal experience with a group like this, so I can't say for sure, but our friends did recommend it to us when we were trying to figure out the whole health insurance thing.
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Comments (18)
Don't even get me started on insurance, and not only health. When I quit working ten years ago we had to get our own insurance, it cost $525.00 a month per year and now it is $1130.00 a month per year,well it just went up again and so more than that and our deductible is $5,000.00. I just turned 56 and DH is 61. What really makes me boil is we have never used it. I go to the Dr. once a year to have my BP medicine refilled and maybe a sinus infection or two , just office visits.. DH hadn't used it probably three times since we have had it and that was for office visits until last year and he had some tests done. He had an MRI and some other tests and out of pocket was $4800.00 That is the only time we have used it for more than probably 3-4 office visits per year. We pay insurance out the a**, auto, truck, pivot,tractors, equipment, livestock, liability on farm workers, shop, even on two old farm houses that aren't worth anything, then there is homeowners and I am sure I am forgetting something. But, it is just like my Dad used to say "you don't need it till you need it." I am thankful we haven't, but I guess what makes we made is that we have to pay for those that do.
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Any way to get Health Insurance now?
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Comments (11)
If she has a minimal income (which albeit has to be significantly minumal for a single person) she should be able to get medicaid. I would tell her though that that is not a pleasant process. My experiance (when I first had my daughter and needed it) was not a pleasant one. The people are mean and well downright awful and their first response is NO. I went in knowing exactly what I qualified for and didn't except no for an answer. I already knew what forms to fill out so when they told me I had to do certain things (which basically just make you life more difficult and are not a requirement) I told them flat out No, I don't have to do that I only need to fill out this this and this. Visit your state resource to find out the income requirements and such in your specific state. They are different for each. Also - I happen to find this as well In the US, there are a few alternatives that you may want to investigate. The first is Medicaid, if you financially qualify. If your income level is over the Medicaid limit, you may still qualify for Medicaid by using a spend down equation (usually the amount of income you receive over and above their income guidelines). To become eligible for Medicaid your allowable medical expenses must be more than your spend down amount. Expenses for medical care that may be considered in this equation include care from hospitals, doctors, clinics, dentists, drugs, medical supplies and equipment, health insurance premiums, transportation to get medical care, personal assistance services, and adult home help services that are related to your medical care. Read more on this here: --> Medicaid Eligibility http://www.rare-cancer.org/health-insurance.html
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anyone know anything about health insurance??
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Comments (16)
In Rita May's defense, sometimes the choices we have to make are difficult. It's easy to say that it isn't a good idea to not have health insurance. But the cost can be prohibitive. I don't know if prices are uniform all over the country or not, but I can tell you that here in California private insurance costs are outrageous. And fewer and fewer employers are offering health insurance to employees, or are making them pay a large portion of it. And because DH has had cancer, changing insurances isn't a real option for us (remember pre-existing conditions). Every year when our contract renews, of course the price goes up. Last year we were paying more than $1,100 per month for the two of us to have medical and dental. In June, when our contract came up for renewal, it was going up another $200+. So we ended up moving to a plan with less coverage to bring the cost down. And this is with a high deductible. So every month I pay for the privilege of SAYING that we have health coverage, but we pay full price until our large deductible is met (we're healthy, so deductible is never met). We argue about this subject every month when I write the check. He says we're throwing our money away. I argue that, while I agree that it's not helping us out now, chances are that as we get older we may need to be hospitalized for one thing or another and that is when the insurance will become "worth it". Many people have to choose between having health insurance and having food on the table. It isn't any wonder that there are so many uninsured. Sad, sad, sad.
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Still ranting about health insurance
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Comments (45)
dedtired -- There are 'advantage' plans that are PPO's. DH's former employer offered us one from Aetna for 2012 and I seriously considered it because our expensive meds were much, much less for us under that plan. However...it left us open to 20% copays. (This one was basically Medicare benefits plus a drug plan.) Our MD and hospitals did accept this 'advantage' PPO. It paid the same for in- and out-of-network doctors. Look at what you will get just from Medicare. It covers a lot of 'normal' stuff, like an annual 'wellness visit' (mini-physical), mammograms, colonoscopy, flu shots, other 'preventive' services. You may not need enough more to warrant buying a supplementary policy, depending on your health. At 70 and 73, we decided to continue with the Aetna 'medigap' supplement we had for 2011. It's $744/year for both of us and pays the 20% Medicare doesn't pay. Example: The doctor bills $300 for a service, but he accepts Medicare assignment. The Medicare-approved cost of his service is $100. Medicare pays $80. Our Medigap policy pays $20. He can't bill for his 'missing' $200 because he's agreed to take Medicare assignment. Our medigap policy will also pay a bit more for the MD who 'balance bills'. This MD can bill 15% more than the Medicare-approved fee, and our supplementary policy will pay it. In 2011 we had zero doctor, lab or diagnostic bills. Medicare and our supplement paid everything. I think our 20% copays on our bills might not have totaled as much as we paid for the policy in 2011, but I don't want to gamble about 2012. (And, the premium actually DEcreased.) If you don't anticipate needing expensive prescriptions, take the cheapest-premium Part D plan. It you DO have expensive prescriptions, tally the premium and what your drugs will cost under a plan. As long as the insurance and pharmacutical companies own Congress, this is the way we have to live.
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terri_ks
17 years ago
My sister had this same question posted to a horse board she visits. Many of the horse trainers/instructors are in the same situation. Their were no real good solutions. One trainer worked at starbucks coffee -the early shift at 5 in the morning until 9 and then had the day free to do training. She said that you only have to work 20 hours a week there to get full(good) benefits.I have the same problem because I lost coverage through a divorce. I pay for private coverage and it is EXPENSIVE, there are no tax breaks available on the federal or state level. We really need insurance reform. I am lucky because I have no health problems,but if I ever did my insurance would be so expensive, I could not afford it . Does that make sense? NO!
jhl1654
Original Author
17 years ago
Health insurance premium is a serious issue . I am ready to become a full time farmer but can't really do what I would love to do because of Health coverage. Yes , we need a reform
skagit_goat_man_
17 years ago
My wife would get major medical at about $70/month. At least we wouldn't lose the farm over major health care expenses. Then we just saved and paid out of pocket for the everyday stuff. I think that groups as the Grange and Farm Bureau also have policies available for members to purchase. Tom

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