Seeking input re: Health Insurance, please

Howdy Folks! Shoe here...

Due to the exhorbitant cost of health insurance I am contemplating on whether I can afford to keep it.

I know quite a few people who don't have it and they seem to be fine with that. For us, we are a small farm, self-employed (to the best of our ability!) and health insurance premiums are outrageous. (To give you an idea, it cost $700+ per month for myself, my wife, and daughter. Many of you have employers who contribute to your premiums, we don't.)

I'm wondering how many of you out there don't carry health insurance, and why. It seems to me, especially since we are fairly healthy (so far!) that we pay these monthly premiums (they look like dollar bills being flown out the window!), we never meet our yearly deductibles so that we can really utilize the "benefits" of the policy, and the co-payments we pay for typical doc visits and prescriptions don't really seem to out-weigh the costs of the policy.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm perfectly aware that at some point there COULD be a time when something happens (severe car wreck, house fire, extreme ill health, etc) that would make us wish we had health ins, but those things appear to be few and far between for many of us. And if it does happen, heck, I know folks who had insurance and still nearly lost everything they own, due to health bills/etc. I guess it's a Catch-22 sometimes...you lose if you have it and you could lose if you don't, eh?

My other alternative is to find a cheaper policy somehow (and I've been looking!). Would just buying "hospitilization" be the route to go? Would just insuring my wife and daughter be better? Is just trying to sock away extra "emergency money" gonna suffice, in case of health issues arising?

I remember a time in 1979 when I was very sick, had no insurance, and ended up paying the hospital a monthly payment (interest free) and that worked out just fine, for both me and the hospital. I wonder if that is a system still in effect today (?). If so...why not just go that route?

(And no...not old enough to qualify for medicare/medicaid.)

Sure would like to hear some input on this, no matter from what angle.
Thanks!

Shoe.

This message was edited Feb 13, 2006 2:54 AM