After learning that our prescription co-pay is going to increase dramatically and that our youngest daughter is most likely going to need oral surgery again and some orthondontic work, we decided to sign up for my husband’s employer’s Flexible Spending Account for health expenses. We expect our medical costs to go up at least 30% with just my prescription costs alone.

What they are doing is increasing the cost for brand name prescriptions from $35 for a 90 day supply to $65 for the first 90 days and then $50 for each 90 days thereafter. Almost all of my medications are brand name drugs. And I am on a lot of medications, none of which Medicare covers since it is my secondary insurance.

We are very fortunate to have good health coverage, but this big change is difficult for us to cover ourselves. I doubt that anyone in the middle class could with the way the economy is. The way things are now, even doctors, especially those paying off their medical school loans and definitely people with Wall St jobs are in the middle class. I’m sure they are scrambling to meet their bills too.

Do you have any changes coming up for your medical costs?

There are TV Commercials that really make me angry. They are the ones concerning health issues. There’s all those prescription ads that make it seem like a pill or injection will cure you for everything. Then you hear at the end of them that voice telling you about the side effects.

What about the ads for any product that supposedly helps you lose weight? Ever check out those before and after photos? And the people they show look perfect, no cellulite, bumps, nothing.

I don’t like commercials for OTC pain medicine, like aspirin, acetaminophen and ibufronen. Many of the brand names make it seem like they can cure any type pain and to take anything else is being a sissy. The ones that talk about arthritis pain and migraines are the worst in my opinion.

What about the ones that use doctors to hawk their goods? If they don’t have an MD or DO after their names, they are not medical doctors. Always check that out.

Have you heard commercials for law firms that are suing over medical conditions like mesothelioma and cerebal palsy? I think they make people look at having an illness in terms of a financial win fall.

What are some television ads about health that annoy you?

With President-Elect Obama only 58 days away from becoming President, we know that change is coming our way. One thing we can expect is an overhaul of the present health insurance issues we face now.

I am very fortunate to have coverage from my husband’s insurer and Medicare as my secondary. I still do have to pay a co-pay for prescription medications though. It is not bad considering what others pay and for the amount of medications that I take. We just got a letter in the mail, though that shook us to the core. The price of our co-pay for prescriptions has increased $30 for Brand Name drugs. Many of the meds that I take are not available as generics. So we are in a bit of a bind here, especially knowing how badly the economy is going.

We really don’t have a choice to look for a health insurance quote because we have the best policy my husband’s job offers. It’s just another thing that we have to consider in our budget. We do hope that there will be changes to include people like us that have coverage but the money that we spend out of pocket still continues to be a burden. I believe that Obama will take these issues into consideration.