why freelancers drink, part whatever

[lagilman]

So, in trying to change over my health care insurance to another freelance org provider, I asked about certain financial requirements, and got back

"Yes, we would accept official, signed documentation (such as your contract) stating that you will be paid for a current project. This, in addition to documentation of the $$ that you have already been paid should be sufficient."

So I submitted that.

This morning? Email from the exact same person saying

"Your insurance eligibility application was reviewed and determined to be incomplete. You've submitted invoices showing $XX billed within the past 6 months. In addition to those invoices, you must also demonstrate that you were actually paid for those invoices. We cannot accept future payments."

Mind you: no invoices were submitted. I submitted proof of payment plus the contract they had indicated would be acceptable, indicating the remainder of payment due within the time period allocated.

But no -- as per their representative on the phone, this is not considered a viable contract by their standards, because there is no set pay-on date (since publishing works on a "delivery and acceptance' window that can range from 4 weeks to... more, depending on how busy your editor is, and how slowly check requests wend their way through the various departments).

Meanwhile, my current health insurance provider is upping their already high rates by another $75/month.

Are we having fun yet?

[eventually I will get paid, and I will -- hopefully -- be able to make the change. But I'll be out of pocket several hundred dollars in additional fees by then, just to ensure if I get hit by a medical bus, I don't go bankrupt.)

Comments

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

Arrrgh! Just arrggggh!

[lagilman]

the frustrating thing is not their requirements (which show a woeful lack of understanding of part of their demographic, but I've already given them an earful about that), but the fact that I wasted time and energy trying to give them what they said they needed, only to discover none of it mattered, as I'm not eligible by their standards right now -- and instead of telling me that, they zigged and zagged and then kept me on hold for an hour, on and off, while they tried to figure out what they actually wanted/needed from me, rather than stopping to think and give me a straight answer.

[nick-kaufmann.livejournal.com]

This is the Freelancers Union, I presume? I recognize their delaying tactics. They had me jumping through hoops for nearly a year before they accepted my qualifications, and then their insurance company decided not to pay for anything anyway while they "investigate" whether my annual checkup is related to a "pre-existing condition." Which it ain't. Fuck 'em.

[lagilman]

Oh joy. Yeah, that's them. I'd stay with what I've got, crap tho it may be, except I can't afford it...

and we live in a "freelancer-friendly" state!

[nick-kaufmann.livejournal.com]

I'm giving serious thought to joining one of those new insurance exchanges, except they're not scheduled to go live until 2014. Until then, if I want insurance without paying nearly $1000 a month in premiums I may have to just stick with the FU, whose initials have taken on new meaning for me.

[allaboutm-e.livejournal.com]

Gaaaaah!
And empathy.

[mtlawson.livejournal.com]

I'm with allaboutm_e...

Gaaah!

[plattcave.livejournal.com]

Who can afford to drink with these insurance premiums????

We're "lucky" right now. Our health insurance was through my wife's job. When she got laid off, we got COBRA, which Obama has subsidized for 9 months. Current bill: $500. Bill after the subsidy runs out: $1500. That's gonna hurt. (Obviously, we're going to start exploring other options.)

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Yeah, COBRA is not all that useful if your insurance premiums are huge without your former job paying them. I ended not using COBRA but getting difference insurance altogether.