Jensen Family

Jensen Family

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

What do you think?


Which whole family health insurance would you choose? Our premiums are before-tax deductions, so saving money is good, but it will then become taxable income. Currently we are with Kaiser.

Deseret Premium: $710/month 90%/10%, small copays, pretty good coverage
Kasier: $501/month (this is going up by $16 from last year) small copays and nearly everything else is covered 100%)
Deseret Value: $80/month 70%/30%, small copays, decent coverage

We can also get a Flex Spending Account with pre-tax dollars to help with copays and prescriptions. We could be saving more than $400 per month in insurance premiums just by lowering our coverage a little. However, I was glad we had such great coverage this last year since I was in the hospital so much and had surgery. But I think we have it under control now. Even if we ended up spending a lot on medical stuff, we would still be okay since the out of pocket maximum is $4000 and we would save $4800 (from not being with Kaiser) during the year with Deseret Value. I am really leaning toward DV so we can have a little extra money in our pockets to pay down Jeremy's student loans. It will only be for a year. We can re-enroll in Kaiser at the end of next year if we feel like we didn't have enough coverage.  Oy, I hate having to make adult decisions.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

WARNING: Not for the weak of stomach

Today we had a special fast for our former Stake President who is in the hospital after suffering a major heart attack. We began last night at 7 pm with a group prayer. Many people were there from the stake to pray for him and his family. I have not really fasted since my gallbladder surgery. I would skip breakfast, but that was it. Well, I decided last night that I was going to really try to do a full fast again. I ate dinner at 6:15, went to the prayer at 7, allowed myself to have a sip of water here and there. I was doing really well. I didn't feel hungry. I got no stomach pains. I was a little tired, but I'm always tired, so that wasn't too bad. I thought it was going great. We got home from church at about 12:30 today. I didn't have lunch, but about 1:30, I decided I better eat something since I was planning on going to choir at 3:45 and didn't want to pass out. So I had a little leftover spaghetti, half a banana, and a granola bar. Bad move. Since I have no gallbladder storing bile for digestion when I eat, it just constantly drains into my system. Imagine having stomach acid and bile accumulating in your middle for nearly 20 hours and then finally hitting it with some food. Yeah, I'm glad I didn't just eat right before choir. That could have been a disaster. So, I guess I'm gonna have to figure out a way to modify my fast or just go back to skipping one meal (but even that can have unpleasant results). Despite all this, I am really glad I fasted. I had some perspective and inspiration that helped me better understand some inspiration I had at the temple the other day. God certainly does work in mysterious ways. :)