Thank God for HMO

I used to be just a stay-at-home mom. “Used to be” because I am now more of a work-at-home mom, what with all the freelance writing jobs I’ve been dabbling into again to augment our income. Yes, there was a time when it all got to me and I decided to be just a stay-at-home mom. If you have been following my posts, I’m sure I don’t have to explain much.

Although in reality being a stay-at-home mom doesn’t really mean I’m not working, I think mothers out there will totally agree with me when I dare say that being a work-at-home mom “doubles” the workload because not only am I working for the upkeep of our home and our family, I’m also logging in either late nights or early mornings to bring in some cash to our joint bank account.

What am I driving at with all this rattling off? Simple, the need to be prepared. I went back to being a work-at-home mom because I suddenly realized how financially unprepared I was.

When I was gainfully employed, receiving my salary bi-monthly, I also had group life insurance, HMO coverage, plus government mandated benefits that extended to my immediate family. On my own I decided to get a life insurance, a memorial plan and another life insurance (yes, you read it right, I have 2 life insurances). You could say I had everything covered.

But nothing could prepare me for the unexpected medical expenses my son incurred recently. I was a plain a stay-at-home mom back then when we got the prognosis. I didn’t have a penny to my name and no benefits to extend to my immediate family either. That’s the downside of working freelance. Although I can choose to pay for all these government-mandated benefits on my own, but you and I know a lot won’t do that.

So I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what to do. The HMO guidebook my husband brought home said it won’t cover congenital diseases and every website on the internet declared my son’s condition as congenital and that he needed surgery.

Trying to find whatever else can be done, I was fortunate to have spoken with my husband’s officemate about the possibility of getting their HMO to cover even a small amount of what we otherwise would have to pay for by ourselves.

I took her advice and brought our son to an HMO-accredited hospital to see an HMO-accredited doctor. And you could say the rest is history.

The bottom line is, were it not for my husband’s HMO I would probably be out begging for my son’s operation. Yes, I’m that destitute.

That is why my advice to all of you, fathers, mothers, stay-at-home or work-at-home, is to prepare for these unexpected occurrences. Save… make sure you have a substantial amount in your savings account and better yet, get some insurance, be it life or medical insurance because you will never know when you or your family will need it.

Wherever you are in the world, there are insurance agents, insurance brokers who can draw up a mutually beneficial agreement to give you the peace of mind you deserve. You don’t have to go through a medical emergency alone. HMOs and insurances are there to see you through. You just have to find the right one.

They say experience is the best teacher, but would you rather go through a financial crisis or a medical emergency of your own if you can simply read about it from someone who has experienced it firsthand? Sharing my life’s lessons with others so they too can learn… that is what this blog is all about.