I currently work for an agency which means I am more like an as needed person. I get better pay than full time people but I dont have any benefits and there is no guarantee of hours. I have been using my husbands benefits and I usually get enough hours. I make it a routine practice to look around on the local job listings every few months just to see if there is a better opp. for me out there. Well, I found a job listing at a little hospital close by and submitted a resume' last monday. On Wed. they called me for an interview. I went Fri. and then tonight for a peer interview. It all has went really well and they have great benefits, including the same ins. that my husband has now. He is also looking for a new job and it would be great to not have to worry about losing doctors b/c of ins. So here is the deal, I havent been made an offer yet but I know it is going to be about / hr pay cut. So why would I even consider taking this job? Well, I have been led to understand that with group disability plans it is alot easier to get covered for pre existing conditions. I wondered if any of you knew more about this. I also would have some paid sick time and of course a guarantee of hours. I dont have to quit the agency since I am not obligated to work a min. number of hours. I could go work for them if I needed some extra hours or if at a later time I went down to part time at the new place I could do part time for the agency as well. I just think that the benefits of Short term disability and sick pay could save my butt in the future, I am not very successful at putting money in a savings acct. I also would be able to get that spending acct for medical stuff. What do yall think? What about the Short term disability?
If they offer you the job, ask that they give you a look at the benefits (one that is detailed). You have to be careful with short term and long term disability. I had to wait for the short term to become available. That sucked because I nearly starved waiting for it. Also, sometimes they put a ceiling on the long term disability (like 00 amd a six month waiting period for it.) Although most companies with over 20 employees do offer group insurance, they have varying waiting periods for pre-existing conditions anywhere from one month to a year.
So, you need to know these details going in. Just tell them that benefits are really important to you as they are a primary consideration for this job, which is true.
The benefit for you in going this route is that once you past the pre-existing condition you can more easily keep and obtain health insurance.
I've been told the health savings account are not that good for chronic illnesses and are designed more healthy people who may get sick. But I don't know for sure.
So look at the details. How much does each doctor's visit cover, ER visits, medical tests, physical therapy, hospital stays? Then what are the rules for short term disability and long term. With that in hand, you can decide if it makes sense or not.
Well they had paperwork on all of their providers except the disability co. which is UNUM. I googled them and found this whole website of people who have gotten screwed by Unum. It is actually pretty informative, there is a whole section that discusses red flags that claims specialists look for. Anyways they dont look too promising. They seem to pay out on the short term, but not long. I guess SSDI would kick in though. The med spending acct is just where you decide how much you want and they divide the annual ammt evenly over your pay checks for the year. You can start spending from the total ammt right away. I have figured it out and my Enbrel alone is going to cost about 0 per year. I go to the RD every 2 mos. with a copay...that=0 per year. Plus so much more. The nice thing is that the money for your spending acct is deducted from your check before taxes are calculated. I dont know what the waiting period would be. I guess even if the disability ins. sucked I would accumualte PTO time. I could save that in case I needed it and couldnt get the short term disability. HHMMMM...I havent even officially been offered the job yet. I am just sitting here wracking my brain and there really isnt anything I can do about this right now. Maybe the Enbrel is going to be a miricle drug and I wont even have to worry about missing work. I dont know...that kind of pay cut = out to almost 300 bucks a week...is that money worth the security of guaranteed hours and the benefits and PTO? UUGGG! I have a headache. I wouldnt even have to worry about any of this if it werent for the RA. As a matter of fact, the past year and a half of my life would have been alot different if it werent for RA. I QUIT! Oh, crap, I cant quit...Im trapped, like a rat. Whose idea was this anyways?
If we could get a law passed in every state that does alway with pre-existing, it would help so many people.
Further, if we somehow could make it a law that all Americans (and not just illegals) have a right to good medical care, I think that would help.
Then, put a cap on the profit levels of the drug companies.
Also, forget this restriction on not being able to buy drugs from other companies.
When I talk to anyone, not just people with chronic illnesses, they all consider our health system in need of reform. It is a big issue even for healthy people with good insurance. They are still paying high medical costs.
Sorry Chrunch never heard of them. Have you had any exp. with Unum insurance co.?I am currently receiving LTD through Unum. It took about 5 months before I received the first check but it included the backpay during the wait time. They have already informed me to file SSDI and then if/when you are approved for that, you have to pay back part of the money you received from Unum.
I also saw their website and it sure didn't do much for my state of mind. Scared the crap outta me actually.
On the pre-existing condition, my husbands insurance changes every January. Talk about a pain!!! The pre-existing isn't a problem as long as I had coverage of some type in the previous 6 months before the change. Hope this info helps you.
Crunchy, have you ever considered being a medical transcriptionist? With your medical background, it seems a good fit. My cousin works her regular job to get her benefits, and then supplements it with working at home as a medical transcriptionist. I would do it myself if I had the background for it. She makes some pretty good money doing it, and can do it from the comfort of her home, on her schedule. Just a thought. . .Deena-that is the thing I dont get, why do you have to pay them back? That doesnt make any sense. How much?
Hilly-That is a good idea, I will look into it! Thanks!
Crunchy,
The part of paying back some of the money makes no sense to me either. It has something to do with you can only get so much together and if SSDI pays more than Unum, you have to pay them the difference back. It is so confusing and makes absolutely no sense at all.Like we don't have enough stress to deal with! If it were up to me I would say we should have the choice of which one gave us more and drop the other and be done with it.
Our healthcare system at work, SUCKS
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