Unemployment Is Now Official

I gave up on appealing Short Term Disability denials. I had one remaining. My former employer told me they had no option but to begin looking for my replacement. They encouraged me to apply for any openings where I had qualifications.

I've been cleared to return to work, but the specs for my former spot have been changed and I'm no longer qualified for that position. At my age, my best chance of getting a job based on my experience is with my former employer, but they're suffering from the economic slowdown and are trying to reduce employment. Employees are staying because there aren't places they can go. There's an exception to that. It seems that 100% of the local HR employees left and took jobs with the casino that's opening up about 15 miles south of Wichita.

My hunt for medical insurance worked out better than I expected. I was expecting to pay around $1,000 a month for myself and my wife. $12K a year was about what I could handle, but copays could have raised that amount and anything catastrophic with a copay would have forced me to take a mortgage while I'm on a fixed income that doesn't cover my monthly expenses.

I found an interesting policy through Coventry Health Systems. It' a $2,500 deductible for me and a $2,500 deductible for my wife. After that everything is paid 100%. My wife and I both have excellent health and Coventry doesn't have a huge penalty for squamous cell carcinoma. My rate will be in the $600 - $650 range monthly. That monthly amount plus my paying the first $2,500 for myself and for my wife works for me.