February 19, 2004
Insurance/Costs
Question from Warrington, Pennsylvania, USA:
I am an LPN in Pennsylvania, unmarried, and have had type 1 diabetes for 15 years. I am 25 years old. My problem is that I took a job through an agency which states two important things:
I am not allowed to work with anyone that my nationwide agency has a contract with for two years after I would quit.
To maintain medical insurance, I must maintain 32 hours per week.
This isn’t always easy and, frankly, it’s more than stressful to fight to maintain these hours, sometimes working several days a week for 12+ hours and then still being called off. I have become incredibly stressed out and depressed due to this, not to mention that I am having erratic blood sugars. I would like to know if there are any medical insurance companies from whom I could obtain insurance without an employer?
Answer:
There are many options that are available to you. However, they won’t be inexpensive. I recommend that you look over the information at the Health Insurance Information Center created by the Georgetown University School of Health Policy. It provides state by state information of how to obtain and keep health insurance. The web address is www.healthinsuranceinfo.net.
DSH
