My throat hurts again. It’s my own fault because I work two jobs, and on the nights I’m not slinging cocktails at the club I’m swigging them. I live in a party town where the sun shines over 300 days a year. So I guess it’s not really my fault—I’m just a victim of my environment.
I am having a blast being a 20-something in this beach city. But waking up with a sore throat is still not fun. So my options are thus: go to the doctor for some pricey antibiotics, or go to Target for some discounted zinc lozenges and a bottle of antiseptic spray. Both sound very unappealing.
Now with two jobs you would think that I could afford health insurance to cover the occasional sore throat or minor scrapes I get into from time to time. And I can. However, I just got off the phone with Health Insurance Operator #687 who has informed me that my out-of-pocket deductible has to be reached before they will start covering anything. This out-of-pocket deductible totals a migrane-inducing $3,500! Why in the WORLD did I choose this plan?!
Is it just me, or is everyone else as blatantly confused by insurance company diction? “Your Preferred Provider Maximum count towards your Non-Preferred Provider Maximum.” Huh?!
I am one of few Americans who has experienced both the PPO/HMO nightmare that is the American Medical Institution, as well as the green-walled first-come-first-serve free clinics of a country under government-provided aid. I can’t say I particularly enjoy either. I hate to tend towards the “It’s-all-a-government-plot” train of thought, but there has got to be a better way to treat sick people, both here and abroad. Somewhere between paying $3,500 for basic annual exams to standing in line for 3 days to see an ill-qualified Lab Coat, there must be a middle ground.
Until I draw up the details, and find the legislators to back my new Wonderful Worldwide Health Plan, I’m off to the drug store. If I remember correctly, the generic painkillers are in Aisle 3.
