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Do you ride without having insurance coverage?

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  • #21
    Originally posted by appyqtrhrse View Post
    Am I the only one who doesn't understand how someone can be physically able to ride, but not physically able to work at all? I totally sympathize with the insurance thing, since it is SO expensive, but the part about trying to get SSI, but still wanting to ride is confusing to me.
    There is a difference between being able to ride on a good day, and being able to get up every morning at 7am and drive to work and be functional for 8-9 hours. There's not much call in the economy for someone who has 4 good days a week and who doesn't know in advance which days those will be. There's also not much room in the economy for someone who needs to see doctors every week during business hours.
    If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats. - Lemony Snicket

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    • Original Poster
      #22
      Originally posted by appyqtrhrse View Post
      Am I the only one who doesn't understand how someone can be physically able to ride, but not physically able to work at all? I totally sympathize with the insurance thing, since it is SO expensive, but the part about trying to get SSI, but still wanting to ride is confusing to me.
      If you don't understand stand my illness, then you want understand if I try to explain, has to do with muscles, vertigo, autoimmune, mcs, i don't ride like everyday for hours, but it is good to go out when able and be out with my horses, like therapy.

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      • #23
        Originally posted by dalpal View Post
        I'll got against the grain here and say that I personally feel that it's irresponsible to do any dangerous sport with out some sort of health insurance.

        I know that's going to piss people off, but riding is not something you must do like drive a car to work.

        With that said.....Look into Blue Cross/Blue Shield's HSA program. I switched because they are raising my rates by 30.00 plus dollars this year. At 40 years old, the HSA will cost me 140.00 per month.
        50 something with fibro in California, if you could get written, would easily be $500 a month for that plan.

        OP, you need to call an insurance agent, if you haven't already, and talk with someone knowledgeable about your state and the plans currently available. There may be an option for you.

        But, I have to say, it would not surprise me if there is not much available.

        Danceronice, they're using the health care bill as an excuse. The plans have been going up 10-20% a year for a decade. What was the reason last year?

        There are some very important new protections in the new law, like that there is no longer a maximum cap on benefits. Recall that Christopher Reeve blew through his $2m cap in 18 months. A bad accident, a birth defect, lots of ways to do it.

        So, OP, again it depends on your state. But, you have no dependents, no assets that you'll miss. If you are hurt, and you are uninsured, you will not have the same access to care, which could at that time shorten or degrade the quality of your life. You would probably need to rehome the horses quickly. Weigh that against where you are now in your life and what is important to you.
        If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats. - Lemony Snicket

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        • Original Poster
          #24
          Originally posted by poltroon View Post
          There is a difference between being able to ride on a good day, and being able to get up every morning at 7am and drive to work and be functional for 8-9 hours. There's not much call in the economy for someone who has 4 good days a week and who doesn't know in advance which days those will be. There's also not much room in the economy for someone who needs to see doctors every week during business hours.
          OMG, you understand and now how to explain. this is me, I may have a good day and then out for a week or more. My mind and muscles don't always work. there is no way I could be at work for set hours everyday when I sit up all night and itch and pack my arms in ice, plus everything else. Plus I can not smell perfume, air freshener, smoke, floor wax, wheat, candles. very hard to find a place to work that doesnot have any of that, just takes me a few swifts of perfume and I am in the emergency room, I can't fight infection and my mucus membranes stay raw, hurt and burn all the time everyday, so I can not take in anymore irritants. I stay in pain and discomfort 24/7 and have sat up and itched all night for 30 years so I have not slept in 30 years, I can not take medicine because I am allergic to it, I can't have anything with gluten, shampoo, creams, foods, medicine all this stuff has gluten in it. skin is a person biggest organ, so my skin, organs, and membranes stay raw, in pain, itch and infected 24/7. Believe me when I say if not for my horses I would not be here, I would never get out of bed. I can't socialize because I am allergic to people. I am like the bubble boy in a way. I can't not make in out in the world, my life is very lonely. eveything makes me sick. i wear a mask out with the horses and keep my horses very clean. I have to control my enviroment.

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          • #25
            Another vote for NO

            I'm afraid that I have to be another vote for NO.
            What if you DO get hurt by your horses?
            Then WHO is stuck with the bill?

            Brush them until they gleam, feed them carrots and cookies until they're fat, but don't ride . That is accepting a risk beyond what the normal person encounters.

            I had an uncomplicated tumble off a young horse in October. I landed slightly off and *would have had* 25K of medical expenses for a simple knee injury!Thank goodness for insurance!
            Even though I'm young, healthy and fit so my insurance premiums aren't as bad as what I've read here, there are plenty of other places I'd love to put my money (college loans to pay, car notes). But, in a high risk sport, as riding is, insurance is a must.
            I'm sorry for what you're going through.

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            • #26
              You will have to apply for SSI several times probably. I have clients that are so severely mentally ill that they can barely get the paperwork done with lots of help and they get denied. They mainly need the medicaid so they can get psychiatric help. There is so little care for indigent people and they are often released back to homelessness. In any case, get a lawyer. One thing you also might consider is Vocational rehabilitation. You may be able to get training in a field that you can do from home like paralegal work or medical billing...I don't know, I'm just making stuff up! but I do know that working is good for everyone if they can find something that works for them. It is good for your self esteem and keeps your brain working. If you have a diagnosis that has changed your job abilities you should be able to get services for free. Good luck to you. The high risk pool is open for business in FLorida...give that a look too.
              “If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?”
              ? Rumi






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              • #27
                Originally posted by poltroon View Post
                There is a difference between being able to ride on a good day, and being able to get up every morning at 7am and drive to work and be functional for 8-9 hours. There's not much call in the economy for someone who has 4 good days a week and who doesn't know in advance which days those will be. There's also not much room in the economy for someone who needs to see doctors every week during business hours.
                Seriously, I have a client who has been on disability for many years due to a long and serious battle with cancer, and she rode throughout. It isn't like she was competing or keeping a horse in serious work or anything, but she rode whenever she was able, and credits her horse more than anything with keeping her positive and strong throughout her recovery.

                There is a huge difference between being able to ride for fun a few times a week and being able to hold down a job, and the idea that the only people who are "really" disabled are the ones who can hardly do anything (or the idea that disability itself makes you unable to do anything) is really ignorant of the huge spectrum of illnesses and disabilities that might make it difficult for a single adult to support themselves.

                Originally posted by Gayla View Post
                You will have to apply for SSI several times probably.
                No other advice, but I'd say this is definitely true. My FIL is a lawyer who had done some SSI/disability benefits work, and he has said that the system pretty much rejects everyone on the first go around. Don't give up after the first time.

                As far as the question in the OP, I think it kind of depends on how much you have to lose. I have ridden extensively and quite riskily without insurance, because I couldn't afford it, and I really had nothing to lose. They have to treat you, so I figured if I landed in the hospital I could work out a payment plan.

                And, I have to say, if I were ever unable to afford insurance again (I live in a state where it's subsidized to a degree for income levels up to what I am likely to be making as a horse trainer in hick town , so that's unlikely as long as the program lasts, but I have thought about it), I wouldn't let it stop me. I incurred nearly $40k of medical bills while having full coverage insurance that I was paying $250 a month for (as a young, healthy, never-at-that-time uninsured person), it nearly made me declare bankruptcy and I'm still paying it off, because my insurance company decided to not cover half of my bills because they were "unnecessary," despite what the doctors said. Also, no coverage for speech therapy (I had a TBI) and some physical therapy was covered, but it maxed out after about 3 sessions. For reference, I was making about $22k/year at the time, so the monthly payment was a big chunk of change and the bills still wound up being twice what I make a year. And I was only supposed to have a $1500 deductible.

                So for me, having that experience, I'm not inclined to limit my activities depending on what my insurance status is. I went out of my way to find insurance that would cover me in event of a riding accident, and I still wound up nearly bankrupt. And while some of that was speech/physical therapy, it was only about $3k worth, the rest was stuff the doctors told me was necessary (x-rays, MRIs, hospital stay) that the insurance company decided, well, wasn't.

                YMMV, but I figure life is too short to worry about that too much. Insurance in the US is a bit of a security blanket. If you're lucky, it will protect you, but it's no guarantee that if things go bad, you won't be financially ruined.

                Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to advise people not to be insured. But if you're in the US, you're probably not as safe as you think you are even if you have it.
                exploring the relationship between horse and human

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                • #28
                  Originally posted by amm2cd View Post
                  I'm afraid that I have to be another vote for NO.
                  What if you DO get hurt by your horses?
                  Then WHO is stuck with the bill?

                  Brush them until they gleam, feed them carrots and cookies until they're fat, but don't ride . That is accepting a risk beyond what the normal person encounters.
                  The most dangerous accident I ever had was taking a horse out to hand walk to graze. The most dangerous accident I ever witnessed involved a woman returning to her horse in cross ties.
                  If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats. - Lemony Snicket

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                  • #29
                    The worst injury I ever sustained while riding was some broken and dislocated fingers. Last year I shattered my ankle (two plates, 14 screws, ambulance trip, ER visit, five days in hospital, 75 PT visits) while *walking* nowhere near (miles away!) a horse.

                    If I didn't have insurance, I'd probably really limit my riding, but I'd do everything I could to have some sort of coverage. My husband almost died and suffered some permanent vision loss because of decisions made in an effort to keep medical bills low.

                    And while emergency treatment has to be given, the follow-up care that can make all the difference in quality of life doesn't.

                    As others have said, get a lawyer to help you get SSDI. It sucks that they often make you jump through hoops to get it, but that's the way they do it.

                    Good luck to you.

                    Comment

                    • #30
                      You cannot be more allergic to people than horses? does not make sense. Horses are a huge source of allergens, they are enormous balls of foreign protein, and the barn is worse. Despite loving them, perhaps they are part of your allergy problem. (even if "you keep them really clean" they are a huge source of allergens). People are not much of a source of allergens (barring perfume, etc) our DNA is far more similar than that of a horse.

                      I second the vocational rehab idea, they are present in most counties in every state. Look in the phone book or on web- they really help people function in jobs that fit.

                      Comment

                      • #31
                        Also, looking at lots of your other threads, it looks like you have several horses boarded, that you start/break them, that you show them, even have one that bucks, that you use Corona shampoo, ivory liquid, etc. Perhaps if you cut down that amount of exposure, both to allergens and to cost, insurance might be more affordable.

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