Okay kiddies, It's that time of year again when we get to see first hand how Barry's "health care reform" is helping us. Yes, it's "open enrollment" time. Remember there were no checks and/or balances to keep the cost of insurance down. Well, my COLA raise will be taken away (and then some) to cover the new cost of my health insurance. Premiums are going up 11%. For this 11% increase, we get 33% higher co-pays for Dr visits, 50% more for urgent care and ER visits, and  prescriptions will cost me 3 times as much. While for some people this isn't much, but for those of us living on the raggedy edge, this is a major hit. I'm at a crossroads here. Do I give myself a substantial raise and opt out of the insurance package, then pray nothing goes wrong? Or do I make even deeper cuts into what I already can't afford. I'm leaning toward opting out, at least till 2014 when even THAT choice is taken away by an over reaching government.
  So much for the "hope and change" you all voted in.