The most important cost of living
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
By Sam Petri
My television gets but one fuzzy channel - I refuse to pay for cable - so to stay entertained, I steal WiFi from my neighbors. To save on the pending wintertime electric bill, wood chopping has become my afternoon past-time. Still, the bills roll in every month and hit hard, totaling about $300, not including rent. The worst one: health insurance at $145. The bill is suffocating, and on the surface, appears to have no direct benefit to my life, like say, cable T.V. would. But after paying for it independently on and off for the past four years, I’ve seen the advantages of carrying that flimsy little blue card.
I am 26 and I have never, ever, had a job that has provided health insurance or any benefits of any kind. The food service industry, the ski industry, the construction world, and now this writing gig just don’t readily offer it. For a while I went without, but after assessing my own lifestyle, I decided I should go out and get some. I went with Blue Cross Blue Shield because they are widely accepted throughout this country.
Until moving to Jackson, I was transient - thus the advantage of BCBS. In the spring of 2004, I headed from Summit County, Colo. to Mt. Hood, Ore., to ski and work for the summer. I had about $500 to get there. Before leaving Colorado I wrote a check to BCBS for $100, my premium at the time. It delayed my trip. I had to landscape for a few days and camp out of my truck to then make enough cash to pay for food and gas to get there. I did it, made it to Mt. Hood, got my old job back, skied for two weeks, and then tore my ACL while skateboarding in the town of Government Camp.
Initial X-rays showed that I fractured my tibia. They gave me a script for pain pills, a brace, and some crutches. They said I’d heal in six weeks. I was happy to be able to go to the emergency room, no questions asked. But still, their prognosis was wrong.
Six weeks later I went skiing again and I could tell that my ACL was indeed torn.
I wanted surgery to re-attach it. The first knee-doctor I went to told me that I hadn’t torn my ACL, but that a knee brace would help. This makes no sense, but being new to the world of knee mechanics, he was able to “sell me” some $300 brace that I never wore, but that my insurance company paid for. His prognosis was also wrong but was able to move some of his medical equipment.
I finally found a doctor that was recommended through friends and family—a key to satisfactory health care. After an MRI, it was obvious that my ACL was snapped right in two. The surgery cost $20,000, but I only paid about $2,500 of that cost because I had insurance. At the time I had, and still have, a $500 deductible, but for some sneaky insurance reason they got $2,500 out of me. I don’t know why - the world of health insurance is unnecessarily confusing. Hopefully our Assistant Editor Grace Hammond sheds some light on the subject on page 13. All I know is that a $2,500 bill is better than $20,000 and that I will continue to send in those premium checks, even if it means barely scraping by.
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The most important cost of living | Planet JH News Article: Editorial
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