I understood by being part of this community in the past two or three years that health insurance doesn't start automatically once hired, but you have to "gain" it after some period of time. Did I understand it right?

Most health insurance is tied to your job. Many- but not all jobs have a waiting period of about six months before insurance kicks in (also many of your other benefits). I have noticed going from low-end jobs to higher end jobs that it seems like the insurance is both faster, more comprehensive and cheaper. For example, when I worked a retail job near minimum wage, the insurance was about $30.00/week, and when I moved to the university, it was free, and covered more. Now the university has changed, so it is a different type of plan (instead of a co-payment of $15 each time I visit the doctor, I pay full price until I reach a certain amount, and then it will be covered-- I think at 80%), ad I pay about $1.00/week.

So this week, with my "rash", I have paid about $150 - $200 out of pocket so far-- between prescriptions and doctor payments.I still have to have bloodwork, a follow-up appointment ad perhaps a dermatologist appointment. If I get more prescriptions, it is possible that I will spend about $500 total on a rash. The prescriptions do not go toward my deductible.

I also have a Health Savings Account through work, so I have about $40 a week taken out of my pay check, tax free, and put in an account toward my healthcare, so I do not have to come up with this money out of my savings. I have the kind of account where I can roll the money over to the next year. Other kinds of accounts, you have to spend it all in the year.

Also, aren't there health insurance plans which cover people and don't care if you're working or not?

HA-HA-HA-HA! That is sort of what the whole healthcare reform thing is about. There Medicaid- for older people and disabled, and Medicare, which is for low income qualified people, but that is considered more "aid" than insurance. Then some (all?) states have an insurace for low-income children and mothers, i NY it is call Child Health Plus. One could also buy an individual plan, but they tend to be VERY expensive, and prohibitive in terms of pre-existing conditions. Or health risks-- that is, I might not be able to get it

Last night I woke up at 3am and grabbed Jack Jaxon's Comanche Moon to read until I got drowsy. Which didn't happen until 8:30am. But I got intrigued again by this story of Quanah Parker [link]

Like a dummy, just as a last thing before I was going to sleep at 10pm, I started looking up Quanah Parker descendents. And got to a page with a listing for a lot but with a really really bad layout so like a SUPER DUMMY I fired up Reunion and started writing down his family tree. Fascinating stuff but man, it's 2:40am and I'm on this bad cycle again. And my hands hurt more from typing.

Serial:

I've created a family tree with 131 people in it in 5 hours. I am nuts, N-V-T-S, nuts.

The personal finance books I've been looking at lead me to believe that I don't totally suck at my finances, which is always a surprise because I assume there's some secret grown up trick that I don't know about.

This, exactly.

Thank you for the detailed answer, Sophia. It's kindda amazing, in my eyes, to see what the situation is like. We have here a totally different health program here.

ION - I got a very part time job thingy as a reader for a blind person. I hope it'll go well.

There Medicaid- for older people and disabled, and Medicare, which is for low income qualified people, but that is considered more "aid" than insurance

Scratch that, reverse it. (Medicare = senior citizens & disability; Medicaid = poor people.)

I see.

It is a truly wackadoo "system" that is all about money and luck, and being sick can disqualify you from coverage. Because sick people don't need medical care, right??

Also, my mother was saying that my grandmother can probably get hospice care under Medicare and still see her current doctors, etc, (did you know hospice isn't necessarily just for the very end of life??) and I was like, "OH! Death panels!!" My mother was like, WTF. I'm pretty sure that kind of thing was what they meant by death panels, right?

WTF. I'm pretty sure that kind of thing was what they meant by death panels, right?

Actually, I think they were thinking of this when they were thinking of Death Panels. Guess they forgot that the Texas Advanced Directives Act of 1999 was signed into law by George W. Bush.