Photos....And The Marketplace

Okay, I really wasn't going to dive back into the Black Hole of the Healthcare Marketplace again today. But, since I have more time invested in it, I'll update you with my saga.

Last night I decided to try the Marketplace again. I still haven't found out how to access that important message I supposedly need to read. But, I was able to go further into the site. It was astonishing to finally get to the point of seeing what is available.......and the cost! Since I was anticipating being eligible for the Federal tax credits, I was aware that I could only shop the Silver and Bronze level policies.

By comparing, I realized that the Bronze level policies only pay 60% of medical costs after the deductible, and the Silver level only pays 70%. This is less coverage than most people are used to. I opted to stay with the Silver level, to lessen my out-of-pocket costs. The least expensive policy I found cost $614.56 per month. That's almost three times what I'm currently paying – and thank goodness the policy I have is grandfathered in, so if I can't find better coverage at equal or less cost I'm not left without coverage.

After a 20-minute phone conversation with the Marketplace this morning, I was told how to initiate the appeal process to see if I might be allowed to use the tax credits toward insurance cost. This information, by the way, never appeared in the 12-page Eligibility Notification I received. I've downloaded and printed off the 7-page appeal document. My next step is to actually fill it out and get it in the mail. We'll see from there. The one thing I've realized all too well is that anyone going through this needs to be patient!

Other than that, I haven't accomplished much today! This morning I was looking through my childhood photo album for some specific photographs. Hubby sat down with me and was looking through photos. After several minutes, he told me he needed to do something else. I was laughing as I told him that he couldn't leave, we'd only gone through photos from birth to first day of school!! That album goes through high school, by the way. Some days it's easy to tell that I'm an only child.

It's always fun for me to go through those childhood photos. It's fun to see the different family members as they were when I was young. I came upon a photo of me with the kitten my cousin gave me when I was little. I found the Easter photo from the year I got a live baby duck along with my Easter candy. By the time we stopped with the first day of school photo from first grade, we had seen three dogs. Pets don't always last a long time in the country.

The best of all was looking at the early photos and seeing all the smiles looking down at me when I was a baby. I should keep this album in a spot where I can grab it whenever I feel down. I can't imagine feeling blue when I look at the photos where everyone was so happy to see me.

Mom worked very hard to raise me in a “normal” environment rather than one where I was spoiled. But I know there are times that it comes through. Heaven help my hubby!