Families held hostage by health-care costs

The story explains the family budget and how much is really available for health insurance...BD

WASHINGTON Single parent Donna Johnson, an office manager for a private school near Baltimore, lives on $42,000 a year and counts herself lucky that she doesn't have to work two jobs to afford health insurance for her children. The reason, she says, is that for $57 a month, Maryland allows her to enroll her son Evens Cross, 12, and daughter Josie Cross, 9, in the state's version of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, which accepts families earning as much as three times the poverty level: $51,510 for a family of three. That's a lot cheaper than adding the kids to her individual HMO policy, which she said would jack up her monthly $200 premium to $500 or more.

Last month, Seth Nelson lost his job as a salesman at a company that sells building supplies. The family's annual income plunged to $19,500, barely above the poverty level of $17,170 and well within Maryland's SCHIP eligibility limits.

For now, the only one going without health insurance is Seth Nelson.

Health | Families held hostage by health-care costs | Seattle Times Newspaper