by Hope
As the kids began to file their taxes, I noticed that my daughter had NOT been removed from my health insurance policy when it renewed in January. So last week I made the call to clear that up.
As I explained to them that I had updated my application in October to have her removed as she then had coverage with her full time job. They acknowledged that I had done that…saw the timestamp of the change in October, 2025.
Our new health insurance cards didn’t arrive til sometime in February and I hadn’t really paid attention. It was only when I pulled the tax docs that I noticed she had not been removed.
Of course, even though I did everything right, they couldn’t reverse the coverage 3 months. But were able to reverse it to the end of February. Okay, fine, we will deal.
Then I get told that our monthly premium, after removing my daughter, who never once used the policy will go from $132 per month to $697 per month. What?!?
Even the agent on the phone was befuddled. No clue as to why, no explantation. I got an email confirming that new premium a few days later.
Today, I logged on and cancelled my auto pay. And cancelled the renewal, our health insurance.
We will no longer have coverage as of 3/31/2026.
Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.
But life has a way of rewriting your plans.
A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.
Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.
Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.
She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.
