Hubs has been cleared to return to work!
It wasn’t easy, but Hubs has received all the needed paperwork to return to work on Monday. His immediate supervisor had told him all that was needed was a return slip from his doctor. Human resources, however, had a different idea. Today Hubs scrambled to have the doctor’s office fill out umpteen amounts of paperwork, fax it to his employer, and get the final okay from HR saying he was good to go. Fridays are seldom good days for handling such matters, so I’m thankful he managed to get it done.
We also got the ball rolling on the little bit of disability pay Hubs will receive for his time off. The insurance isn’t much and became even less because the doctor’s office wouldn’t backdate his disability to when he received the diagnosis. No surprise, but I had hoped that they would have at least backdated it to when Hubs met with the surgeon. Alas, they used his date of surgery. We probably could have argued it, but that may have delayed getting the okay to return which would then have cost us even more in the way of lost wages. With the date given, we will be lucky if it covers our benefits. Hubs has both short and long-term disability paid by his company, and we do pay for additional long-term. Doing so with the short-term didn’t make mathematical sense, so we skipped buying the extra. At this point, I am thankful for any amount we will receive.
Aside from Hub’s health, a huge concern of mine had been paying December’s mortgage payment. Between what remains in our savings and checking accounts, combined what I earn, I figured we could handle the other bills. With Hubs return to work on Monday, his check should be enough to take care of the house payment. If need be, we can always use the 15 day grace period, although I’d rather avoid doing so. Again, I am thankful that we will have checks coming in to cover our bills.
As for medical bills, today we received the first of many statements to come from our insurance company. We owe $189 to the outpatient clinic and $199 to the hospital for the ultrasound. The clinic isn’t directly associated with the hospital so we will foot that bill when it comes but it does count towards our deductible. I’ll likely be calling the hospital and ask them to add the $199 to our interest-free payment plan. My hope is that they will eventually offer us a discount for paying it off like they did when I broke my ankle two years ago. I’m not sure about the surgeon’s portion, but we will figure that out when the bill is received. Again, thankfully, the most we are responsible for is $4k. Our insurance pays 100% after we meet that, which we most certainly will.
Although I prefer to remain positive since being negative won’t get us anywhere, I can’t help but think we are way too old for our finances to be this tight. Still, I remain thankful that we did start this journey to get out of debt and also for the progress we have made. Just a year ago, we would have been far worse off. If I needed another reason to keep pushing (I honestly didn’t!) this experience most certainly has given me one!
Today I am thankful for today!
Glad your husband gets to go back to work. We’re too old to have such a tight budget, too, but we do. I have a feeling we’re living happier pinching pennies than people who hide from reality and just run up debt after debt. I’ll take living within our means over blind spending any day! In fact, that’s what I’m thankful for today, a tight budget!
Another good reason to be thankful! A tight budget does mean that we know where every last dime is going and there is nothing wrong with that!
I am glad your Hubs is cleared to return to work. Disability pay is helpful no matter how little to help you stay afloat during those tight spots in life.
Medical debt is a killer for many people’s budgets so I am thankful for insurance.
You’ll look back on this as a blip in your journey before long. 😎
Sluggy recently posted…Frugal Friday…..the November 3rd Edition
Thanks, Sluggy! I don’t know the exact percentages, but I have read that medical debt ranks very high up there for the cause of bankruptcies. Health insurance is something we have never gone without as we always felt it was far too risky to do so.
Yay! I’m so glad he’s been cleared to return to work.
Medical bills can be brutal. I am crossing my fingers that they’ll offer you a discount.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery. You guys are amazing.
The 76K Project recently posted…Help Me Out Here: Picking A Health Insurance Plan
Thank you! I’m hoping they do. Meanwhile, the hospital will remain last to get paid off as we have other priorities. A discount sure would be nice though!
Glad to hear he is cleared for work. I’m sure it’s all a relief to be done with and get back to normal life. You have already paid off a lot of debt, so don’t worry. This was just a little slowdown period and you’ll be back at it. P.S. I stared your book recommendation last night – loving it so far 🙂
OneFamily recently posted…oh, it’s Friday
I am beyond eager to get back to normal life. Glad you are enjoying the book!
So happy for you! We are hoping Chris is ready to go back next weekend after 8 weeks off. Talk about a budget killer, I think we may have a little left in the pot. Fortunately his back surgery earlier this year maxed our medical benefits so this knee replacement is a “freebie” except for the extreme loss of income.
Wow. 8 weeks is a long time! I hear you about the medical freebies. Since we’ve maxed out our OOP, I’m trying to get in any appointments I feel may be necessary before the end of the year!
YEAH!!! I know that this is a tough season for you, but you will look back at this and shrug your shoulders and move on.
Rhitter94 recently posted…On Trimming the Fat
Getting out of debt sure isn’t easy, is it? Thanks for the encouragement. I know with perseverance, we will both succeed and see this through!
Amen – sister!!
Rhitter94 recently posted…On Choosing a Theme for 2018 – Contentment
I know it is hard to have to face this large bill when you are trying so hard, but you just have to chalk it up to life. At least he is healthy and back to work!