FWIW, SF Fire CU in the bay area has credit cards that charge 7.5% rather than the 25%-ish at Capital One or Citi.
Hope this helps in some tiny way.
Of course before going this route, check with a reputable source.
I’ve been on COBRA twice before using the 60 day “trick” due to recession related lay-offs. Luckily, the previous times I didn’t have cash flow issues, but I did learn that to get reimbursed once you opt-in and pay those back months can take many, many weeks. So while it may seem like you possibly extending your cash flow, you are actually playing a risky game of chance. Cash flow will end up being far worse off if you get unlucky.
I know I’ve replied more than once in this thread shooting down suggestions, but do know that I appreciate the advice. I’ve just lived life having quite a few unlucky events at bad times, so I’ve learned to always consider how worse off things can be for others.
What I was hoping for with my post was to solicit actual introspection and suggestions for alternative fixes that the HN community could iterate on. So please, I hope people will focus on that instead of my situation. Thank you.
https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Programs-and-Initiatives/Other-Ins...
Instead of COBRA, can you get on an Obamacare ACA plan? That might be much cheaper.
Pro-tip:. If you pay out of pocket for your regular doctor (maybe tell then your situation and work out a deal), you can get Medical to pay for the prescription (verify before trying).
Obamacare IS Medical (aka Medicaid)
Medicaid is called MediCal, except persons in the US illegally can get it, too.
If you pay out of pocket for your regular doctor... you can get Medical to pay for the prescription
edit: I'm not sure there's any grace period at all with the ACA. You have 60 days to sign up, but unlike COBRA, I don't see any evidence you can start using the insurance without paying for it first, which is the nice thing about the COBRA grace period.
https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage-outside-open-enrollment/...
https://www.coveredca.com/individuals-and-families/getting-c...
I don't see any evidence you can start using the insurance without paying for it first,
How does that work if you've suffered a catastrophic injury and you're not well enough to sign up until after you've been treated in the hospital for several days?
It's similar, but it doesn't sound like the COBRA thing, where you have the option to retroactively extend your employer's coverage, or not, for a couple of months and you can still visit the hospital the same as you always did (or not) because of the payment and notification grace period. If it turns out you didn't need the insurance, you don't need to pay for it.
Don’t fill out cobra paperwork to day 59
If not sick or total bills less than 2 months cobra payments, decline cobra.
If sick and total bills > 2 months cobra payments, decide to accept coverage.
Used this for like 5 job hops. Never had to opt in, but it seemed fine. Confirmed with HR several times that it would work as I said.
After 2 months it starts to get gross. Likely want to get an emergency only plan.
This is the kind of mental gymnastics that would be completely avoided if we had even the most basic of universal coverage.
So how is my budget?
* I know that there will be a time gap between being able to apply for unemployment and receiving it. The unemployment systems in the US are still overwhelmed.
* Since my wife is on my health insurance plan, COBRA is going to be very expensive.
* We moved recently for my job, so a lot of the savings we had are already gone.
We have some runway, but no where near enough to feel safe. We are one of those edge cases where we took a risk, it paid off and life was great, but it didn't last long enough for us save up again so things are looking grim. So finally...
> Yet when I read Redditors talk about quarantine, you'd think everyone in the world was getting paid time off to play Animal Crossing at home or they live at mom's house rent-free. And it seems like it's this crowd that's likely to be pushing for staying in lockdown with no end in sight.
We both still are 100% for maintaining the quarantine. No we are not living some relaxing lifestyle at home. I've been quite stressed out. However, I also know that I would never forgive myself if I contributed to breaking quarantine early and that caused a chain reaction of hospitals to be overrun again and leading to my parents, a relative, or an old friend to die because they could not get the proper treatment.
There is a lot I want to rant about, but rather than that, I would like to leave these thoughts:
Stop thinking of the solution as being so black and white. Lifting the quarantine isn't the only way to help everyone who has been impacted. For example, why not have the same government bodies that enacted the quarantine do something just as drastic to save those who were impacted? What other solutions are out there?
Also, if lifting the quarantine leads to more deaths, then remember that there is an economic impact there too. Have you ever paid for a funeral? I have and at a young age too. It burned a hole in my savings. That set me back several years in saving and investing in myself. Imagine doing the same to the generation of young adults whose parents are in the risk factor group. Far too many of the comments I read, even on HN, are seeing things only through the lens of what politicians say. Outside of compiling raw statistics, I've seen very little independent thought on how to solve the current problems in society.