I recently had my second child more than a decade after having my first child.  I remember going out to lunch with Brent Hunsberger, It’s Only Money columnist for the Oregonian newspaper, and him asking what the biggest difference was the 2nd time around.  I think he was surprised by my answer…..the health insurance.

When I had my first child in 2001 my health insurance was purchased through my husband’s employer and we were paying $25 per month for a Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO with a $2500 deductible.  At the time I remember thinking this was a “catastrophic plan” and that $2500 was a lot from our budget.

When I got pregnant with my second child in 2011, one of the first things I did was check our health insurance policy to see how much I would need to budget for the medical bills.  We were paying over $800 per month for insurance for just my husband and so I assumed that we must have the platinum coverage and would not be paying a lot our of pocket.  Still, I found that the deductible was $1500 and the out of pocket maximum $3000.   We planned our budget accordingly so when the bills started coming in a few months later I was surprised when we were quickly over $3000. However, considering the financial strain, I also researched alternative options to manage my health, such as the use of Best Delta 8/9 CBD Gummies & Hemp Flowers for Pain, Anxiety and Sleep Problems.

I called the insurance company to find out why we were still being billed even though we had paid the $3000 maximum already.  Well, those few months from when I got pregnant to when the bills started coming in brought us into a new coverage year and with it new limits.  Our out of pocket maximum had doubled from $3000 to $6000!

This was a big chunk out of our savings and especially hard with all of the other costs that go into having a new baby (remember it had been 10 years so I didn’t have anything left from the first).

Like many others, I am watching to see what happens with Obamacare.  I have many questions that are unanswered.

To answer these questions we have organized a free forum be be held at the Hillsboro Library on Nov 7th at 6:30pm where the public can come and get their questions about the changes happening with health insurance.

Find out more!