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Cost of Care: Illness, coverage expenses put woman to the test
02:03 PM CDT on Saturday, September 19, 2009
Gail Penry figures she needs 10 lives. Her three cats have nine lives, and her declared goal is to outlive them.
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The 57-year-old Dallas woman was diagnosed with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease, about two years ago. When the illness flares up, she may be in bed for a week. Now unemployed and unable to work, she lives mainly off her Social Security disability checks and help from friends.
"I'm no slacker," she said. "I had always thought I'd work into my 60s and then retire. But here I am in my 50s and wondering, 'What am I ever going to do?' "
Still, Penry considers herself fortunate, because she was able to continue the group health care coverage she had through her former employer. A federal law known as COBRA allows her to hold on to that insurance for 29 months because of her disability, though the coverage is now at her own expense.
When she was a marketing executive, her monthly premiums on her employer-subsidized coverage averaged about $160. When she first went on COBRA and assumed the full cost, the premiums increased to $599. And when her coverage was extended because of her disability, her monthly premiums shot up to $883.
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The insurance has proved both a blessing and a burden, Penry said. Her group plan has an annual deductible of $1,500 and co-payments of $25 for a primary-care doctor's visit or $50 for a specialist's visit. But the high monthly premiums, combined with her meager income, have forced her to live on a budget that leaves no room for unexpected expenses.
Her premiums and other out-of-pocket medical costs eat up more than half of her income. To make ends meet, she's become an avid coupon clipper, kept a close eye on her utility and grocery bills and resorted to selling the jewelry and business outfits she once wore.
Penry has her sights fixed on 2010, when she completes the two-year wait that people with disabilities face before collecting Medicare. Once she's on Medicare, she expects her health care costs will be about a third of what they are today. "I've always considered myself a survivor, but all of this has been a test for me," she said.
