Health Insurance and Other Stuff Update

I wasn't planning on updating this anymore, but @planetmoney retweeted a post from a couple of years ago that touched on my dealings with insurance and the health care system in general. I've gotten a couple of questions as to where I am now, so here's the update:

I'm still sick. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic condition; there is no cure--you just manage the symptoms. So I still have routine visits to the doctor and lots of blood-drawing.

But, I'm doing better. Some time towards the end of 2008, some of the medication I'd been taken for years (methotrexate) suddenly started working; it wasn't as if I suddenly could hop up and down stairs, but it helped, and it was an opportunity to start moving a little again. Luckily, methotrexate isn't one of the thousand-plus-per-dose medications that I'd tried; I just take ten pills once a week, and no trips to the hospital (and the costs that come with them) are required.

A little bit before this happened, my mobility and balance had deteriorated to the point where I was barely moving much at all, even when the arthritis wasn't flaring up more than usual. This, combined with some terrible stress at work, spurred me to drag my sorry ass to the gym to try to get a little activity. Exercise was difficult in and of itself, and it's a long story--maybe for another post, if I start posting irregularly again--but the combination of methotrexate kicking in, and being able to move again did wonders. I got on antidepressants again. I lost 80 pounds in a year. I still have terrible days, but it's not the norm. I'm still in pain, but it's much less distracting.

The insurance situation is about the same. A little better, as my current set of medications are cheaper than the alternatives. A little worse, as my workplace decided to axe the plan I was on, and the only remaining plan available to us is a "consumer-driven" high-deductible plan which tripled our copays/deductible and reduced the percentage of services covered. And since my husband and I work for the same employer, we're not allowed to cover each other as dependents, as spouses often do.

Thanks for asking.