There are a lot of different issues you need to look at here, especially if your husband has poor health and needs frequent medical care. First of all, it's hard to buy health insurance on your own that's cheaper than what you can get through an employer's group health plan. If your hushand has pre-existing conditions or health conditions for which he is currently under treatment, buying insurance for yourself could be essentially impossible. So be careful before you exit the employer's health plan, because it may be hard to get back in, and you could be left without any coverage at all. Generally speaking, people who purchase health insurance for themselves on the open market (as opposed to being in a group health plan at work) are going to buy some type of major medical plan with a high deductible. This is just about all you can afford if you're paying the whole cost of it yourself. If you do decide to look at plans that you can buy yourself, be very careful to look them over very carefully. For instance, they may have very specific limitations on pre-existing conditions. For instance, if a person takes blood pressure medication, they may refuse to cover the cost of that for the life of your policy. There may also be fairly low limits for "maximum lifetime benefits," meaning that if treatment for a serious illness ever runs in to the hundreds of thousands of dollars (as it easily can), you could at some point exhaust your coverage, and would essentially no longer have insurance. Also, if you or your husband spend a lot on prescription medications, that's something you need to consider carefully. How are these covered under the plan you're looking at? As you know, the costs of some of these drugs can run to thousands of dollars a year, and many "major medical" plans that are basically geared for catastrophic illnesses won't cover them. My suspicion is thst you are going to find that you'd be better sticking with your hushand's employer's group plan. Possibly there are some options there (such as a HMO or preferred-provider plan) that might save you some money, but going out and trying to buy health insurance on your own is usually only a viable option for someone who's in very good health and really does not anticipate needing a lot of medical treatment.

O.J. -- A few years ago our MD 'fired' us as patients! Bizarre guy. We'd only started with him because he would take our medical coverage. Then it was a challenge to find another internal medicine MD. Finally found a multiple-doctor practice nearby and were assigned their newby, who has worked out OK. (Not the best MD I ever had...but then THAT one never even billed an insurance company going back to the 1980s; it was pay upfront and submit your own claims.) One of the best things about our current situation is the manager of the practice. The whole office is run beautifully. I agree about the problem about too few RN's. I've had two hip replacements and the removal of a staghorn calculus.. All surgeries were done in hospitals that were 'Top Rated' and with 'Top Rated' MDs. HOWEVER, the nursing staff was so thin that I was advised by my doctor to hire my own practical nurse for the first 48 hours post-op on the kidney stone surgery! (Was I ever glad I did! Still, I signed myself out prematurely -- before they could kill me with incorrect meds.) Meanwhile that group of hospitals is really raking it in. I've followed their fortunes, having been born at the original one.

I was at first overjoyed to read sweet Boone was doing better, than saddened to read he had another issue, then another, and now my heart is literally breaking for the loss of your sweet boy, Oak. Know you are not alone in your tears as I weep for your loss as if it were mine. He knew true love when he looked into your eyes, and always remember that. The joyous memories of Boone and Gracie will last a lifetime. Take your time to grieve, but have an open heart to allow another little puppy( or two!)to thrive on the love you gave your 2 babies for many years. God bless (((you and DH)))for this unexpected loss.

In response to Agnes, A few years ago I woke up one morning and noticed that colors were not very vivid in my left eye. A couple hours later I noticed that my vision had suddenly become very blurry in that eye. By that evening I could not see bright lights with that eye and everything was gray and white --- no colors at all. I got an eye exam that night and was diagnosed with optic neuritis and probable multiple sclerosis. Two days later I had an MRI and found out I did not have MS, but had two brain tumor instead. One of them was wrapped around my carotid artery and pushing on my optic nerve, which is why I was almost totally blind in my eye by this time. I had brain surgery a few days later. This is why the OP does not need to be without health insurance even if she is young and healthy. I was too, until I woke up that morning.