State:: North Carolina

Occupation:: Management

As a small business (fewer than 10 employees), we’ve furnished health insurance for 13 years. Our employees are younger (30-38) but we are older (60). Four years ago one of our younger employees was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He underwent treatment and is in remission. Our insurance costs escalated. We are now paying $2700 per month for five people and $1900 of that is for the two of us. The two of us have not met a deductible in several years.

We recently found out (had been told before this wasn’t possible) that we could get private insurance for us and still keep the group plan. One of us was turned down, so we have no where to go. No other company will quote our group because of the employee who had cancer.

So, our options are to continue to pay almost $24,000 per year for the two of us so we can keep the employees covered or to drop coverage all together. Of course, our employee who is a cancer survivor won’t be able to get coverage.

We have definitely been failed by the system.