I was bracing myself for sticker shock because our enrollment period for my husband's insurance will start next week. Instead, I was shocked to find a letter today stating that everything is basically the same and no premium increase. I was wondering why until I read Stig's post. I guess I will have to wait until next year for sticker shock.

I am expecting it to be almost the same as when we suddenly lost our group health through an employer and had to join my state's high risk pool. We were paying $1,100 per month in premiums for what amounts to a catastrophic policy. They only paid 80% of the bill after we paid $5,500 PER PERSON, not family deductible, and then paid 100% after we paid (I think) $15,500 out of pocket. From everything I heard, that is the type of policy I was expecting to get with Obamacare.

Prep-wise, I am trying to get everything done that I need, but as life goes, needs keep popping up. I am putting more money aside, little by little. At least now I know we have until next year to worry about it, but I know we are going to pay through the nose for it. I'm not worried about getting quality care. I can throw a stone and hit 3 doctors and a dentist out here, and I haven't had any problems with the multitude of professionals I have seen so far. I am a bit worried about paying for it. We thought we would just tough it out and try our best not to see doctors, but when our daughter got sick you bet we didn't hesitate to take her to the doctor and get the needed prescriptions. We worried about paying later. And I thought my plan for treating my RA was a good one. I would take Prednisone, which is dirt cheap, and my leftover pain pills and muscle relaxers. When that didn't work, we had to pay $1,800 per month for Humira, which was actually a discounted price. It is normally about $2,200. We wound up using almost all of our preps until he got another job with benefits. Extra deductible money is just another allocation in my prep spending now.