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Published on: 4/8/2008
Last Visited: 4/9/2008
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Wendy Sweet rarely visits the doctor.But last October, after BlueCross BlueShield increased her family's monthly health insurance premium to $1,150, she sure felt like she needed one.
The Charlotte Observer reported that Sweet, 46, owns South Street Mortgage.As a small business owner, she has no one to help offset her health care costs.
So Sweet joined a small but growing number of people enrolled in faith-based alternatives to health insurance.
...
Sweet said she earns $150,000 to $200,000 a year.But her husband is a stay-at-home father and she said an insurance bill of more than $13,000 a year is tough to absorb.
Sweet recently took her 6-year-old daughter, Emma, to the dermatologist.Emma was diagnosed with ringworm, an infection common in small children.
The visit resulted in a $110 bill and prescriptions totaling another $111.If Sweet were insured, she would have likely paid a $20 copay for the visit, and probably half of the total cost of Emma's medicine.