Health Insurance: Looking Back -- And Ahead
Sam Atadjanov, 37, Couldn't Get Coverage for His Family
Each year, many of us make choices about our health insurance. See how life and their health plans affected some people this year and how that will reflect in 2008 selections. We'll check back with some of them in the coming year to see how their choices work out. Select an image to the left to read more. | |||||||||||
As an accountant for a small business, Sam Atadjanov has health insurance through his employer. But none of the company-sponsored plans will help cover his wife or children, and buying more insurance on his own isn't an option. "I cannot afford to get [health insurance] now for my wife," said Atadjanov, who emigrated from Uzbekistan 10 years ago and lives in Silver Spring. "It's out of reach at this moment." Because his wife, Dilya, works part time and has no access to coverage through her job, she is uninsured. Their children, ages 9 and 7, are covered under the State Children's Health Insurance Program. For himself, Atadjanov pays about $50 per paycheck for the lowest-cost choice: HMO coverage through Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States. It's the most affordable, plus the care is "all in one place," Atadjanov says. His situation is not uncommon. Some small firms are offering workers a set amount to find coverage on their own or dropping family coverage altogether. Others have shifted more of the cost of family coverage to workers, who pay more for it ($4,236 per year, on average) than those in larger firms ($2,831), according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Next year Atadjanov plans to opt for Kaiser again. He hopes his wife can soon work full time to get coverage, too. His grade: B | |||||||||||
