Sophie’s Choice

in the four years i was living in Trinidad, actually for the three years preceding that as well, i had no health insurance. i was a freelance contractor in most cases or my full time employer didn`t offer health care benefits. but it was ok, because in that tiny little twin island republic, we had socialised medicine. yes, there were excessive waiting periods and sometimes you had to go somewhere else to get prescribed medication, but it was available, you had a choice.

now i have this job and i have to have health insurance and as of January it`s going to be Sophie`s choice, coverage for me and my family or rent. a combination of a 21% increase by the healthcare provider plus a 15% cut on the amount my employer pays equals a 30% cut in my pay cheque. a friend asked if it was low pay or high insurance costs and i think it`s a combination of the two. continuing to do the math, i`ve realised that were it not for my employer contributions, all of my salary would be spent on paying to make sure, vic, the boy chick and myself had some kind of coverage.

there is no hope for a raise, so now i`m trying to find cheaper alternatives for coverage for my family. my immediate option is getting everyone checked up while we still have coverage, then dropping the family portion of the plan for major medical, because what`s the point of having health insurance if we don`t have somewhere to live.