That is how much it has been costing me to COBRA my family's health insurance each month. I managed to pay it for the first three months since I was laid off. I probably wouldn't have bothered except my 2 year old son needed to have a hernia repaired to the tune of $8,600 so the $3,700 I spent on the insurance seemed like a bargain.
The trouble is I can no longer afford it. It has taken me a lot longer to find a new job than I thought it would. I went from making $62,000 a year to making $1,100 a month in unemployment. Yes, I am one of the many whose uneployment will not even cover the cost of their family's health insurance. Is this a great country or what? My youngest son (1 year old)apparently has an iron deficiency that we cannot afford the testing for. I have had to stop taking my Cymbalta due to the cost. My mortgage payment is due in 9 days. Not sure how I am going to pay for that. I have a traditional 30 year fixed rate mortgage that I had no problem paying for when I was employed. We even put 30% down on my house last year when we bought it. I am figuring that even if we could sell it in this market we would stand to lose at least the $50,000 down payment as the value of homes in the area have plummeted. All of this leaves me tied to this area (Tampa Bay). I wouldn't want to leave even if I could but there are few positions in the field of clinical research right now. I am about at the end of my rope (no there isn't a noose on the end of it, but thanks for the concern).
As much as I love Obama and as much faith as I have in his ability to get us out of this economic jam I think it is going to be too late to save this family's finances. We are one accident away from bankruptcy. With two boys under the age of three a fall from the couch will lead us to financial ruin. I think that my family has sacrificed about all that it can sacrifice for this country. But I am going to sacrifice more for this country. It is looking like I am going to join the Public Health Service. Thank god I have a Master's of Science in Public Health otherwise I would have had to seriously consider the armed forces, something that many people are having to consider. I am actually quite excited about the opportunity to join the uniformed services and serve my country. I hope they take me, but even if they do it is going to at least 3 months before I can be commisioned. Does anyone know where I can get a cheap roll of bubble wrap for my kids?