Good grief, Daniel. I'm sorry.

To me, one of the scariest things about this divorce is that I will have no health insurance. Ellie and frisco will be covered until age 26, but this baby and I have nothing. I have a lot of guilt over bringing one child into the world with no coverage when his siblings have it so good.

I'm hoping to get something to cover us both. I won't know my options until the divorce is final and I worry about that unknown a lot. I'm having this baby at home because for me, even a few hours in the hospital is too much interference. But I am also praying that his birth is as uncomplicated as the other two because a decision to transfer to a hospital would be very pricy.

That's atrocious, Gris.

oh and now a group wants to repeal sick day policies because they don't serve corporate interests.

That's pretty atrocious too. Not surprising however.

Ugh Stephanie, how nerve-wracking.

Hubby and I are always amused by how early in the year we max out the family co-pay portion of the insurance. Thankfully my "oh, god, is this a heart attack?" scare came after we maxed it out with a couple of MRIs for Hubby.

And God bless Medicare, because it covers what the company health insurance doesn't. Fighting for that disability ruling was the best thing we ever did.

Sometimes I hate this country so much.

Not often, but it fucking makes my stomach turn that people like Stephanie and Daniel and Meg even have to think about these things.

Part of the problem is that the people who set policies don't have to live (or, too often, die) under those policies. Politicians have access to high quality health care and don't have to worry about the cost. Insurance company executives ditto. There are people who don't dare leave jobs they hate because they can't get health insurance otherwise. I read somewhere that when Herman Cain had cancer a friend got him into treatment at M.D. Anderson and when he was released another friend had him flown home on a private plane. At one point (several years ago) in DC there were news stories about children suffering the effects of lead poisoning; at the same time, Bush senior's dog was being treated for the same thing ... only with better care than the children were getting.

(And, by the way, the hospital ended up writing off the portion of the bill for my appendectomy the insurance company wouldn't pay for ... about $18,000 worth. so ... yay hospital)

take a look at family leave policies, insurance, unemployment, and cost of raising kids.

That is what the fuck is up.

There's a reason the generation born during the Depression/WWII is the smallest of the 20th century, and it sounds like the current generation being born will echo that.

A friend and former co-worker has a daughter who was born around 1975. My friend is still bitter that the company policy at the time was to terminate women the second the baby was born. She then had to re-apply for her job.

My insurance is a horrendous monthly amount, but no other company will cover me. I have no confidence that any part of the health care law will survive the next election, and Georgia is fighting funding a high-risk pool.

when Herman Cain had cancer a friend got him into treatment at M.D. Anderson and when he was released another friend had him flown home on a private plane

The first friend was T. Boone Pickens and the second was a corporate jet.