Tip # 715 - KNOW ANYONE LIKE THIS?

Sunday, May 3, 2026

Meet 'Katie.' Teacher, single mother of three making $57,330.

Her health plan has a $2,500 single deductible plus copays, coinsurance, etc. capped at $5,000/year. Double per family.

That’s a decent health plan. Her share of the family premium is only $225.70/month. That’s outstanding! (Woefully short on pay, school districts often rock on benefits!)

Here’s the problem.

On top of the occasional sports injuries, Katie and one child have chronic health conditions that have resulted in trips to the ER and hospital stayS. (Plural, plural, plural, plural.)

After taxes, retirement and pre-tax child-care, her take-home barely meets day-to-day living expenses.  Now, thanks to more than $10,000 of uncovered medical expenses in back-to-back years, she pays over $900/month to hospital/ambulance/physician collection agencies. (Again, plural.)

Google tells me 36% of households have medical debt like Katie, causing roughly 66% of bankruptcy filings in the US.

Employers frequently offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) to connect people like Katie to resources to deal with debt.

That’s a supportive start.

Maybe there are some more creative plan design options that could help, too.

In related news, I see Elon Musk’s 2025 compensation package totaled $158 billion. Wanna bet Elon and Katie have similar health plans?