I only have it thanks to my dad, who is keeping me on his plan while I'm in college.

I have it now but didn't it have for years though!

insurance/benefits is one of those major negotiation points for me with jobs. if they don't have insurance i'm not interested...i too went through a period in college w/out health insurance and i did end up getting hurt and had to pay $600--which isn't a lot but to me it was a fortune since i was lucky to even have that much a month!

Of course I do! Even if I didn't have a job that had health insurance, I woudl be covered by Alberta Health! It pays to be Canadian!

Yes-Good insurance

I do - would never go without it again.

no, i used to have great insurance at my last company but the company I am with now offers high, not so great insurance so I opted not to enroll for now.

I have it through work... it's not all that great, but it's better than nothing.

Unfortunately I managed to get into a horrible bike wreck that landed me in the ER for seven hours and resulted in me needing a ton of dental work done... all BEFORE my insurance kicked in.

Yay life.

I have it through my Dad, thank God. I'd be so broke trying to pay for my doctor's visits and my pills for my colitis. They are verrrrrry expensive.

Everyone here is the UK is covered by the NHS. Having had first hand experience of health care in the US, Canada, and the UK, I'd pick the latter, hands down. It's not as glossy or shiny as the others, but it's fair and it gets the job done.

Squirrellypoo...I love your picture!

I have health insurance through my job, and as Leilanic1 said...health insurance was a must-have when I was job hunting. I wasn't interested if the position didn't offer health insurance. Thankfully this job covers medical, dental, and vision.

I lost my health insurance at the end of last year and I am so paranoid that something bad is going to happen to me. But now that I finished taking the bar exam, I can hopefully find a job quickly and get some coverage.

Oh one of the many benefits of being Canadian! This is something I never have to worry about.

I currently live in Switzerland, where everyone has to have a health insurance (those that cannot afford it have some kind of state funded insurance). I have it even better however, I'm insured in my home country, Slovakia, from the law (i.e. the state pays for it), because I'm a student and thanks to some European agreements, that insurance covers everything included in the basic insurance in Switzerland (which is enough, probably more that I would need). So I get the Swiss health care system for free. Fortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to try it out yet.

I'm a little mad because I just found out about it today.

My mom (we all live in Oregon), she doesn't have insurance and her job doesn't cover for one. My dad can't add her on his insurance because it's a crazy amount of money (and they won't be able to pay mortgage and such if he enrolled), so she doesn't have one. Unfortunately my dad's income (which is a little bit above the 'poor' line) basically make her ineligible to apply for Oregon Health Plan. She's pretty screwed thanks to our health system. Back where we came from, we could afford this, but not anymore

She's getting sicker nowadays and tried so hard not to go to hospital/doctor until the other day, she had such a high (Excessive) high blood pressure that we had to bring her to the ER.

I'm going to be helping to pay her bills (because the amount is CRAZY. Going to a ER alone will cost almost 2 grand here), way to go... Now she's stressed out again after seeing her bill, and her blood pressure is UP again. And God knows she doesn't need the extra stress. They applied for 'hardship' program, and it gave her a discount of a 300 bucks, so yeah, it's still pretty high for her to pay.

I'm a little angry because this is the first time I heard of it and it's been open since January I'd have tried it out for her.

I never had health insurance growing up, but when I got into nursing school they required it, so I searched online, found the cheapest one and now I do. It covers like nothing, so I don't use it.

I'm lucky enough to have good insurance.

Yes I have, everything is covered by the state here even eye surgery to get rid of glasses...we do, however, pay a much higher income tax but its nice to know that there are no weird loopholes in the contracts, that everything everywhere in the world is always covered no matter what

Thankfully yes, i have insurance. I get it though my job...which is also my families business. Its really great...plus they have a nice medical plan that covers part of what the regular medical insurance doesnt. Its such a great thing...especially with two little kids!

no, my work's premiums are too high for me right now because of my employment status as a consultant while I am in law school at night. I buy BCBS catastrophic insurance (Not high deductible - $500) at $35 a month but i HATE not having regular insurance!

I do not have health insurance. I am in law school and I have been shopping around for a plan that I could afford, I finally found one through ehealthinsurance.com - but I was denied because I have Acne! Aetna, sent me a letter and told me that their underwriters would not insure me because of my "pre-existing condition." I work part-time and I am ineligible for state plans, and when I finally found a plan that I could afford I was denied for a completely bogus reason.

People are always appalled when I tell them I have no health insurance. They think uninsured people are too cheap or too lazy to purchase health insurance. The reality is that I am trying to find a plan that works for me and a plan that will have me. Nevertheless, my search continues ...

i do, but i'm paying an astronomical fee for COBRA, since i was laid off from work two months ago. i was caught without insurance when i was hospitalized overnight for a bleeding ovarian cyst two years ago, and let me tell you, that was NOT cheap. so i've learned my lesson when it comes to health insurance.

I didn't have it for years, but now I have it through school. It only lasts through August though, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to find a job quickly after graduation.

i'd never take a job that didn't offer health insurance. never ever ever.

I have it through work, and I will never again take a job that doesn't have benefits. I can't qualify for insurance on my own, only through a group plan. Eff you, spleenlessness.

I don't understand why it's so hard to get insured. I don't mean it as a put-down, I honestly don't understand. When I worked freelance for a year, I got an individual plan which was $99/month, with an 80/20 and $1500 deductible. Is that sort of thing hard for some to get, or is it still too expensive?

I'm with some of the others here--when I went back to work at a regular job, good health coverage was one of my top priorities. My company pays 100 percent of the premium.

brown_eyed_grrl, I'd LOVE to learn more about this insurance of yours that only cost around $99/month, with an 80/20, and $1500 deductible.

If you have more information, please let me know so I can sign my mom up for that, I'd be very grateful.

Brown_eyed_grrl -- for many private insurance plans, there can be pre-existing condition clauses that allow PPO plans to decline coverage if you have not been covered for more than 62 days or if you have any type of pre-existing condition. (My sister-in-law was declined for having a deviated septum in her nose that she has had since she was 4 years old. The insurance company said that until she had nasal surgery, they would not cover her.)

Anyway, HMO plans through employers cannot discriminate based on pre-existing conditions or prior coverage, but in some states they are crazy expensive. Here in CA an HMO is the cheaper insurance, but in NY it would be thousands of dollars a month per employee to cover our employees with an HMO.

Yes. It's really good and pretty affordable too. The best plan I've had in the past 8 years.

I finally got it in Feb after not having it for YEARS!!

And to all those people in Canada, I hear that you have to wait FOREVER to see a doctor... is that true?

Yes I have full coverage all inclusive health insurance. Vision, Mental, Dental and Whole Body. My insurance even covers Eating Disorder treatment and sex changes for those needing those services. Then again my insurance is because I work for the City of San Francisco but I still pay for my insurance - every pay check money is taken out to pay my share of my health insurance costs.

My issue now is in looking to return to the private sector - I'm running into companies that do not offer any health insurance coverage at all. They've intentionally left their employee rolls below the minimal number required by the city to force them to supply health insurance to all employees. Instead they hire people for just under 40 hours or hire people on a temp basis or hire people as independent contractors. It irks me. These are multi-million dollar companies but they are so cheap and blindsided by the almighty buck that they cannot see that having and keeping employees healthy keeps their profits growing.

i have it and am proud to pay for it. I pay the highest amount out of my pay check possible, but I have outstanding covereage (as in free physical therapy when i needed it) etc. It's worth every penny and I am proud to pay for ti myself.

Before I got laid off I did...

In Massachusetts we have universal healthcare. It's mandatory for all residents. If you don't have it (there are free plans available to those who can't afford it), you get heavy fines on your taxes.

I have really good health insurance through my job. To me, that is almost as important as salary.

Yes, I have health insurance, but only because of my husband's coverage through his employer. Our family coverage is top-notch and includes dental/vision, and (most importantly) prescription coverage. I'm self-employed and would not be able to obtain this coverage on my own, otherwise. The retail cost of prescription medications alone would be impossible to maintain. I'm amazed by people who do not consider the cost of their benefit package when assessing their yearly compensation. Don't gripe about low salary if you have great benefits! I haven't had a paid sick day or vacation day since 1992, when our oldest child was a 1-year-old and I became self-employed in order to provide adequate care for my family (rather than paying $1,000/month to daycare)and still maintain a second income for the household. What do I get in return--self-employment tax!!

I am also paying for COBRA. How in the world do they expect you to pay for that when you've just lost your job???

No I dont, Its really hard after college when you are kicked off your parents to get health insurance, I landed my first job and whne I was eligible for insureance I got laid off. I think it should be national that you are covered under your parents insureance till you are 25. This way you have time to get a job and are still safe and insured.

Just going through the process of getting a new one. Had great coverage with my old job but am now self employed and the rates are crazy.

we have insurance, we pay something like $1,400 a month for the 4 of us and my oldest daughter is not eligible for insurance. if you really need medical care you can't get insurance. nice for the kids.

I need insurance, I have a chronic medical condition.
Plus I live in MA where it's required. Luckilly I'm still in (grad) school, so it's available to me.

I am in school and almost every college that I know of allows you to purchase insurance through the school as a student. You can even pay for it using your financial aid money.

Another option for people who are unemployed or uninsurable is to open an HSA account, similar to an IRA many banks and credit unions offer them. Your contributions are tax free and just write them off at the end of the year.

There are plenty of options out there you just have to take time to research them. Try going to the Urgent Care instead of the ER, it only costs about 100$ and they will treat you a lot faster.

The ER is way too expensive, I wouldn't go there unless I was literally dying...There are also plenty of Clinics for people who are low/income or uninsured. They cost less and will usually let you make payments.

I only know about these because I was uninsured at one point and racked up 3000$ in medical bills. After that I knew I had to go out and do some research. I could have saved myself so much money if I had known what was out there...

I wish I could say I do but...I am finishing up my internship & will graduate with my Master's in May & I am finding a job ASAP!!!! I knock on wood everyday to ust give me a little more time...

I live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

We have excellent national health care and I have insurance through work to cover dental, physical therapy and medications.

One of the posters had asked how the wait times are in Canada and for ER I've never waited more than 4 hours to be seen. I can get an appointment with my GP the following day if its an emergency and it only takes about 2 months to book a physical. I think this is remarkable considering the high quality and care of the doctors!