Like looking for a needle in a haystack, finding decent and affordable health insurance has been a huge pain in the rear. I was actually beginning to wonder if it was an impossibility. And Russ and I were beginning to weigh the pros and cons of going with a cheapo policy that was liable to not cover everything in a dire emergency. Wading through health insurance quotes is not for the weak, I tell ya!

In the middle of all this, while searching the internet for options, I ran across this post by some like-minded souls about a recent trip to the emergency room – and the peace of mind that came from being in France and being covered by the lovely French social healthcare system. It simultaneously made me feel like anything could happen so we should be thoroughly covered and made me want to just flee the US for someplace with a better health system.

How did it all work out? Well, I spent hours and hours searching online and talking to various insurance agents. It was like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, in that the first quote was too big and the second quote was too small and, finally, the last quote was pretty much perfect.

In working with a really lovely and bubbly insurance agent (Hi Lydia!), she found a plan through Celtic that covers us in the case of something catastrophic and also allows a few doctor visits at a low $30 co-pay. The deductible is rather high ($5,000), but there’s an out-of-pocket limit, which means that, if anything major happens, there’s only so much we’ll have to pay (which is what insurance is for, right?). Whew.

We have both been approved and now we’re just waiting to sign the paperwork. And we have both let out a huge sigh of relief in knowing that we’re not running off into the world at risk of who-knows-what. Plus, we don’t have to sit and watch the news headlines and wonder just how long it’ll take for universal healthcare to make its way into our daily lives.

P.S. If anyone needs insurance, we can definitely recommend a good agent! 🙂