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Personal Finance From a Biblical Perspective

Creating a Side Business to Pay for Obamacare

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Tens of millions of people are currently going without health insurance coverage. The reasons are pretty simple: either they can’t afford the high cost of premiums, or they have been declined coverage due to pre-existing conditions.

The Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, looks ready to fix the pre-existing condition problem. Under the plan, not only will insurance companies not be able to turn you away for pre-existing conditions, but they will be unable charge you a higher premium either.

So far, so good.

[Find out how to save money on prescriptions.]

What Obamacare Won’t Fix

There is a lot in the President’s plan that I really like, starting with the elimination of pre-existing conditions as a factor in health insurance coverage. That needed to happen a long, long time ago. And you can’t argue with a concerted attempt to get everybody covered.

What is not as certain however is how much all this is going to cost. The current consensus is that young, healthy people will be paying more than they were under the old system, while older and less healthy customers will pay less. If I had to bet money on this plan, I‘d have no trouble betting that premiums are going still higher.

It’s hard to imagine how 100% coverage on preventative care, mandating coverage, and providing health insurance for 50 million people who currently don’t have it, is going to lower premiums. Add to that the fact that health insurance premiums have been going up for years, and there is no solid evidence that this cycle will change.

So just by making an educated guess, I think it’s pretty safe to say that higher premiums are something that Obamacare will not fix.

And that creates one not-so-small small problem…

Obamacare Costs

You Will Now Be Required To Have Health Insurance

Under the new law, you will be required to have health insurance, otherwise you will have to pay a penalty. For 2014, the penalty is so low you pay it and get on with your life. The higher of $95 or 1% of your gross income is still a heck of a lot cheaper than even an inexpensive health insurance plan.

But as the years pass, those penalties become increasingly stiff. You’ll be paying a substantial penalty, but not having any health insurance coverage to show for it. Effectively, that will force you to have health insurance whether you want it or not.

If doing without health insurance has been your strategy for dealing with unaffordable premiums, it looks like that option is about to go out the window. And that raises the question How will we be able to afford that which we can no longer avoid?

Creating A Side Business To Pay For Health Insurance

I’ve heard horror story projections about Obamacare – we all have – but my feeling for a long time has been that the present health care system is already broken, and we should embrace this change. It does have a lot of positives, but we have to deal with the reality of figuring out how we are going to be able to afford it.

My suggestion is to create a dedicated income stream to pay for your health insurance. With premiums expected to be anywhere from $250-$300 for young individuals, and well over $1,000 for families, it is very possible that health insurance will be the single most expensive line-item in many household budgets. That will require some extraordinary measures to deal with.

[Should you let your employer know about your side business?]

Since you’ll need your regular income just to pay living expenses, the best strategy may be to develop a side business that will be used primarily to pay for health insurance. Here are my suggestions for just such a business. Each should be able to provide you with at least a few hundred dollars per month, and maybe a lot more. One of them may be the best solution to mandatory health insurance.

This is just a list to get you started – you probably have skills and interests that would make your own choice of a side business obvious. Now is an excellent time to dust off any ideas you have, and put them in the practice.

Freelancing On The Web. If you are comfortable with computers and the Internet you may be able to sell your services to websites and blogs. The possibilities here are nearly endless – content writing, social media management, editing, technical assistance, business development – you name it. Figure out what it is that you can do better than most people, put together a concise resume (or build your own website), then begin contacting site owners directly to hawk your service.

Tutoring. Where I live, people who tutor high school students are getting at least $30 an hour. Pick a subject that you are strong in, and offer your services as a tutor. Make up a simple brochure and provide a small supply to each of the schools in your area. You can also advertise your services on Craigslist, or place flyers in grocery stores, churches, Laundromats, or even the bulletin board at work.

Selling A Product. Is there a product that you feel very strongly about? Your enthusiasm and conviction may be your best tools to sell the product. Many companies offer affiliate programs that you can work through. You sell the company’s product, and collect a percentage commission upon each sale. You can automate the whole process by creating a website, and selling the product online.

Applying A Specific Skill You Have. Inventory all of your skills, there may be one or two that you can convert into a business. For example, if you have bookkeeping skills, offer your services out to small businesses. If you have fitness skills, you may be able to teach in a gym. This can include Zumba, yoga, aerobics, or even personal training. Think about the skills that you have, and the businesses were those skills might be useful.

[Find out how to discover the right business for you.]

Starting a side business is often a matter of matching your skills with a corresponding market niche. Spend some time working on that – surf the web looking for ideas and markets, join networking groups, and talk with your friends. As a rule, a side business will provide far more compensation than a part-time job will. And that may enable you to afford health insurance coverage that you otherwise can’t.

What are your own plans to deal with healthcare reform and higher, mandatory premiums?

How to Save Money on Prescriptions – 5 Tips To Bring Down Your Medical Costs

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We’re caught between a pair of very unfortunate realities when it comes to prescriptions: prices are rising, and so are health insurance co-payments. Add to that the fact that more people are being put on more drug therapies than ever, and we have a crisis brewing in prescriptions alone. Think of it as a crisis within a crisis—with healthcare overall being the big picture problem.

There are ways we save money on prescriptions, and they mostly involve asking a few more questions.

Save Money on Prescriptions

How to Save Money on Prescriptions

Free Samples From Your Doctor

Any time your doctor recommends a prescription for you, your next question should be: do you have some free samples you can give me? Make this question automatic!

In order to entice doctors to recommend their products, pharmaceutical sales representatives often provide doctors with generous supplies of samples of the drugs. Doctors will sometimes give these out to you without you having to ask, but it never hurts to help the offer along with a question.

You can do this with new prescription therapies, or even with existing ones. Most doctors are aware that patients are hard pressed to pay for medical treatment and may be sympathetic to your situation.

{Learn how flexible spending accounts can help you save money on prescriptions!}

Avoid “Non-Formulary” Medications

Health insurance companies typically have lists of approved prescriptions. If a medication is on the list, it will be covered by your plan. If it’s not on the list, you’ll be on your own to pay for it.

Insurance companies refer to these lists as “formularies”, and the doctor is expected to prescribe from that list. A medication that isn’t on the list is referred to as “non-formulary”, or unapproved.

You can ask your doctor to be sure that a prescription is formulary, but sometimes you won’t find out until you go to the pharmacy to fill the order. (Alas, health insurance is complicated even for those in healthcare!) If it turns out that the prescription is non-formulary, ask the pharmacist for a replacement medication that is on your insurance company’s formulary. Failing that, you’ll have to contact your doctor to make the change.

There may be cases where the only medication available will be non-formulary, and if it is, you’ll have to pay what ever it costs.

Use Generics When Ever Possible

Most of us are aware of the fact that generic drugs are cheaper than name brands, and often by a wide margin. Still, it’s worth repeating. It is, after all, the single most common way to reduce prescription costs.

Many pharmacies will use a generic alternative automatically as a service to you their customer. But that won’t be possible if the doctor has marked the prescription for the brand name only, and that does happen. Sometimes there is no effective generic alternative, but other times it’s just an oversight on the doctor’s part.

Any time a doctor gives you a prescription you should ask about using a generic instead. That will at least cover you if the doctor makes a mistake.

Lower Drug Costs

Non-Prescription Alternatives

Once a medication has been around for a few years there’s an excellent chance that it will be declassified as a prescription and moved to over-the-counter status. Prilosec and Prevacid are examples.

If you can’t afford to pay for the prescription version, you can ask the pharmacist for an over-the-counter alternative. This can save you money even if you have prescription coverage under your heath plan, since co-payments can range up to $50 and beyond. The OTC alternative may be only $15-$20.

{Find out the rules that govern OTC drugs and flexible spending accounts.}

But the biggest savings will be realized if you have no prescription coverage. Prescriptions medication prices are out of control, and a price exceeding $100 is extremely common. The use of an OTC version of the prescription medication can mean the difference between treating your condition or doing without completely.

Just make sure that any time you go this route you’re not trying the do-it-yourself course. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for an appropriate over-the-counter alternative.

Minimize Use Of Prescriptions

One of the very best ways to save money on prescriptions is to look for ways to treat yourself that don’t involve prescriptions at all. We often believe that there’s a pill for what ever ails us, and that’s an expensive way to live. The better alternative is to make lifestyle changes that will free us from the need for medications altogether.

Though it’s not always possible to do this, it is in many cases. It’s been estimated that between 80 and 90% of all illnesses and health conditions are related to behavior, which is how we live.

High blood pressure is a typical case. You may need medications to control it, but they will never make it go away. Only healthier lifestyle changes can do that. While you’re taking your medications, you could focus on losing weight, getting more exercise and finding ways to reduce stress that will be the long-term solution to the problem.

There are also non-medication related strategies that can be quite effective. My wife was on pain medication for a shoulder problem but found they worked only minimally. What worked best to dull the pain was a centuries old home remedy: ice packs! They cost nothing and did a better job.

Prescription costs have skyrocketed in recent years, and there’s no sign that will stop. Our best chance of keeping lid on this cost may be to find reasonable alternatives where we can.

Are there other ways you can suggest to save money on prescriptions?

photo credit: Freedigitalphotos.net

Need To See A Doctor? Go Rob A Bank!

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According to a recent article by the Gaston Gazette, James Richard Verne decided to rob a bank in order to receive free medical care. My first thought when I read about this was, “who robs a bank in order to get medical care?”, but the question became a little more clear as the story unfolded.

On June 9th of this year, James Richard Verone walked into a random bank in Gaston, N.C., and handed the teller a note demanding $1 and medical attention. He then told the teller that he would sit down and wait for the police to show up.

Growing Medical Ailments

The purpose of him “robbing” the bank, was to get medical care. He actually has a part-time job as a convenience store clerk, but apparently doesn’t have medical insurance.

Here is what the article had to say about his work situation:

Verone worked for Coca-Cola for 17 years. He prided himself on keeping his nose to the grindstone. Don’t make enemies. Sell the product. Make your deliveries and stick to your schedule.

When his career as a cola delivery man ended some three years ago, Verone was knocked out of his comfort zone.

He hopped back in the saddle driving a truck. But that employment didn’t have near the longevity, and Verone found himself jobless.

He lived off of savings and sought a part-time job.

Many people in this country work either full-time or part-time jobs with no (or inadequate) health insurance coverage, and do just fine. However, Mr. Verne had a host of ailments that made him want to take desperate action:

But the bending, standing and lifting were too much for him. The Gastonia man’s back ached; problems with his left foot caused him to limp. His knuckles swelled from arthritis, and carpal tunnel syndrome made daily tasks difficult.

Then he noticed a protrusion on his chest.

Strapped for cash, Verone looked into filing for disability. He applied for early Social Security.

The only thing Verone qualified for was food stamps. The extra money helped, but he felt desperate. He needed to get medical attention, and he refused to be a burden on his sister and brothers.

“The pain was beyond the tolerance that I could accept,” he said. “I kind of hit a brick wall with everything.”

Verone is 59 years old, and has a host of medical problems. The article doesn’t tell us what steps he took in order to get medical care, so we can’t say anything about injustice or unfair treatment by the “system”.

The Solution: Rob A Bank!

I am not sure how much time and energy he spent seeking more traditional avenues, but his actions show that he spent time planning this move!

He considered turning to a homeless shelter and seeking medical help through charitable organizations.

Then he had another idea: commit a crime and get set up with a place to stay, food and doctors.

…Verone sold and donated his furniture. He paid his last month’s rent and gave his notice.

He moved into the Hampton Inn for the last couple of days.

The article didn’t say why he only “considered” seeking medical help through charitable organizations, or free clinics. I know many people who don’t have insurance either due to being unemployed or part of the contingent workforce, but they still find ways to get medical treatment when they need it.

It can be easy to feel sorry for this guy – and in a way, I do – but, there seems to be a large part of this story that is missing. Maybe he could have simply gone into debt, trying to pay for treatment. Then his choices would have been to either pay off debt, or file for bankruptcy.

He could have shown the determination that the parents of Michael Bibbo (a young man who is suffering from Primary Lymphedema <–click to read his story and donate to the cause) are showing! His potentially life-saving surgery will cost over $90,000 and is not covered by insurance. Instead of sending him off to jail, they are trying to raise money, and are even willing to borrow whatever they don’t raise, in order to save his life!

From The Mouth Of Verone

To make sure that his intentions were clear, Verone mailed out a letter to The Gazette  on the day that he robbed the bank (but before he committed the crime). He even listed his return address as the Gaston County Jail:

“When you receive this a bank robbery will have been committed by me. This robbery is being committed by me for one dollar,” he wrote. “I am of sound mind but not so much sound body.”

“I knew that a felony would not hurt me. I cannot work anymore,” he said. “That felony is going to hurt my reputation.”

Unless I were to receive more information – showing that he was denied medical care because he didn’t have insurance – I am compelled to believe that he didn’t explore all of his options!

He doesn’t feel bad about his decision, and says that he will do it again if his sentence isn’t severe enough for his liking!

photo by Ben Goff/The Gazette

What Do You Think?

I have a habit of being hard on people in situations such as these. Besides considering how ridiculous and wrong this is, I can’t get passed the fact that (based on the information we have) it doesn’t seem as if he exhausted all of his options. I know (and have known) plenty of people who didn’t have health insurance, but still managed to get health care when needed – even if that meant incurring debt!

So, I want to hear what you all have to say about this story.

  1. Based on the information that we are given in the article and his letter, do you think that he made the right decision?
  2. Would you be willing to go into extreme debt in order to seek medical help?
  3. Would you be willing to go to jail in order to get medical care?
  4. Considering the fact that he wasn’t facing a life or death situation, if you were in his position, what would you have done?

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