This is what I did when I was in my 20s. My job offered insurance, but because I was much, much younger than the average employee, I could actually get my own insurance cheaper. Insurance rates vary wildly from state to state, and I don’t know what they are like in Ohio, but you may find that it is affordable if you get bare-bones coverage.
They aren’t married - if he has insurance, it won’t make any difference for Opal.
Opal, would you possibly qualify for public aid kinda type of insurance? That’s what I got when I was unemployed and living in Missouri. I know Dom has insurance through his dad, but this would cover only you in case you got really sick. Then you could go with planned parenthood for birth control, and maybe the Bridges to Access thing for the Welbutrin?
Since you’re moving to Cleveland, check out SuperMed One from Medical Mutual. I used to be on it, before my small company was eligible for group coverage. Med Mutual is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) insurer around here and you would not have a hard time finding anyone who is in-network for anything.
It may be more than you’re willing to pay but I honestly don’t remember how much it cost, anyway. I THINK mine was like $180/mo but I am an overweight female smoker in prime baby-making years. Plus this was a couple years ago when the product was quite new so they may have a host of different plans now.
Call me crazy, though…I would hit him up to at least help pay for the birth control! Easier than going to Planned Parenthood.
Farm Bureau’s the only one I know of, although I suspect it’s possible through other professional organizations too. California Farm Bureau runs $75 a year (I’m a member anyway - you don’t have to be a farmer) and it looks like health insurance for just me is going to be under $200 a month. I’m still getting quotes from independent agencies just to verify.
Definitely try Planned Parenthood for BC options. I used them when I lived in Ohio and at least at the time they had a sliding fee scale for services so everything was very reasonably priced. I still use them today in NC - they take my insurance and their fees are much less than if I went to my primary care doctor for the same things.
The city of Cleveland also provides free and low-cost health care. You might be able to get your Wellbutrin through them at a reduced cost.
http://www.clevelandhealth.org/ActiveServerPages/Health/HealthCenters.asp
If the $300/month came about because of my post, remember that was for a family of 4. Probably $80-90/month for a single adult. That was a couple of years ago, so costs have probably gone up.
I’ve been through trying to get personal coverage. I got really lucky and got a new job before it became a fiasco. I was turned down even for emergency coverage but I have a lot of pre existing conditions.
However, the best advice anyone can give about health care right now is MOVE TO MASSACHUSETTS!!
As mentioned, we aren’t married, for one. And for two, no he doesn’t work–he’s in podiatry school and getting student loans, same as me.
Wow lots of good information here. Thanks, guys! (And keep it coming if anyone else thinks of anything!)
I can’t really act on much this week because now that it’s down to the wire (moving truck comes on Saturday!) I need to focus on packing.*
*notice that I’m currently on the SDMB instead. Somebody spank me!
Hey opal - sorry to bring this back up again especially if you’ve already gotten it taken care of, but I found some more info on prescription assistance - The Partnership for Prescription Assistance.
This is the one Montel Williams is the spokesperson for.
Just thought I’d let you know. Hope the move went well and all is good! 
Wow, I’m glad you popped that thread back up. I have to go get mine this week before I quit and go work for myself. I’d almost forgotten.
I paid for individual insurance for myself, my husband and my 2 year old for about 6 months last year while my husband was unemployed. My policy by itself (29 year old female, non-smoker, no major health issues) was just under $100 per month. Our whole family was about $250. This was for basic coverage, no maternity, no prescription until after my deductable was met. What you will likely find is that you have to pay out of pocket until you hit a certain amount per year (mine was $2500 per family, that is not including your monthly premiums or co-pays) and then the insurance will pay something like 80% of your costs. Pre-exsisting conditions are not covered, and there is a waiting period in some cases before certain other things are covered.
However, I did manage to find a policy that covered preventative care up front. I could go in for my yearly physical and my son could have his checkups for free, so that was good. I could add various riders like maternity and more prescription coverage for added fees. But most prescriptions weren’t worth it. Heck, we have group health insurance now through my husband’s company and I still pay full price for birth control (when I was still on it), also for prenatal vitamins and my co-pay for my acid reflux medication is about $75. Prescription coverage is expensive.
One thing to beware of - I don’t know what you take Wellbutrin for but my husband was declined from 2 insurance companies for taking Wellbutrin for ADHD in the past - he isn’t even on it now! And since he had a brief bout of minor depression, some places didn’t want to touch him. Apparently any “mental health issues” are a red flag to these people.
We ended up getting coverage through Humana. You can shop around on ehealthinsurance.com. Try getting rates for short-term insurance if you only want it for a while.
Thanks guys.
I take Wellbutrin for really, really bad bipolar disorder. I’m not really sane/human without it.
Disclaimer: I do work for United Health Group.
However, I’ve gotten pretty good feedback from members leaving my clients when I directed them to Golden Rule (UHG’s Indivudual policies):
I think you can come in under $100.
Also, be sure to Google for RX discount programs. For a small fee ($6/month?), you can get larger discounts on your Meds. Buproprion is a nice generic, nice discount.
-Cem
Ouch. Welcome to my bipolar world. Not trying to be a downer, but I’m self-employed and tried ehealthinsurance.com with zero success. There is a site www.ohioinsurance.gov which might be of some help to you. Or, email me if you like and I can give you the number an insurance broker who has found possible coverage for me. He’s in Fairlawn which is about 20 minutes away from Independence. As for prescriptions, I went to www.togetherrxaccess.com and got a discount card which saved me about 50 percent on one prescription. Also, do you have any credit cards? I just found out that one of mine has a discount program that is even better than togetherrx.
Wow I hadn’t even considered credit cards. I will have to check.
Bupropion is magic for me. I’ve been on various other medications for almost 20 years… Lithium, Paxil, Celexa, a couple of others in conjunction with those… none of them were really adequate.
I was researching them some time ago for the two of us, and I found one I liked that had about a $10K deductible, but it was pretty cheap monthly, like $150/month for the two of us. It gave a couple of yearly checkups (like regular and gyno) for free. I have no idea what it had for prescriptions, though. The company name started with an H, (Humana, maybe?)
My current drugs of choice are Lithium and Zoloft. Wellbutrin made me itch. :eek:
Not to hop on OpalCat’s thread here, but I have the same question yet under completely different circumstances:
I work a normal job and have normal health insurance (i.e. my employer pays a part of my premium, the rest comes out of my pre-tax income). However, my girlfriend (who I’m proposing to in, oh, 10 days) just got a job at a law firm. They handle health insurance by giving their employees $4,000 to use however they choose on health insurance. It’s “use it or lose it” — if you only spend $3,000, it’s not like you have another grand to blow on a vacation. It can only be spent on health insurance.
So, we had a crazy idea: Find a health insurance plan that will cover both of us. She says she’s heard of some plans that will allow you to cover any 1 person besides yourself, regardless of how you’re connected to that person. And there are obviously plans that cover domestic partners. Now, I’m a guy, but I know for a fact that hetero couples can also qualify for domestic partner benefits under the right circumstances. Ideally, we’d also like a plan with excellent birth control coverage, and prescription coverage is definitely required (I have chronic asthma that can easily be controlled by drugs, but without them, I’d probably be wheezing 24/7 within a couple weeks).
Does anyone know of an insurance company that provides such benefits? From what I’ve read of this thread, we shouldn’t have too hard a time paying less than $4,000 for it. Oh, and if it’s relevant, we’re both in our late 20s and, aside from my asthma, in very good health.