Today I overheard a rather pompous, upper-middle class (if there is such a thing these days…) talking to her disciples during lunch today. I found it very concerning, as she was speaking about how terrible our state’s health care program is for expectant mothers. The hen (as I will fondly refer to her herein) was also relating to her friends how “marvelously easy and inexpensive” decent insurance is these days, “for those few who are not too lazy as to actually look . . . They might start with forcing their husbands to find a decent job where their insurance would be covered automatically” she said. Wow, was all I could think. So they do exist, the Marie Antoinette’s of our age, telling all to hear to “let them eat cake!” knowing little to nothing about what is really going on in the slums, the ghettos, or as they are more properly referred: the long lost lower-middle class families. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just snap our fingers and a lovely little insurance fairy would pop up granting all of our wishes like in the comical State Farm Insurance commercials we see almost every day. Apparently, the hen took these commercials seriously. But I can’t lie, I’ve tried the jingle myself and guess what… Nothing happened. Maybe I should try again with a group of attractive yuppy A&F labeled friends. Note to self, start stalking the Abercrombie store… Anyways, I find about a million and one things wrong with what she said. We can start with the easy ones. Would all of the men in the room who have mediocre jobs only because they don’t feel like finding a better one, please stand up. Hmm… All I hear are crickets… Ok! Well, i don’t think I will waste your time or the battery on my lovely new iPad (see previous post!) ranting and raving about the obvious lack of jobs this overturned economy has caused. Instead I will go straight for the insurance. Even good jobs these days have insurances that really aren’t cracked up to much. Employers are paying les and less of their parts, leaving a heavy financial burden on the employee to pay the difference. And if he/she has a family, look out! One of the kids is going to have to get a job to cover the costs of the insurance alone! If these individuals or families are able to purchase the insurance, will they ever really get to use it? It works like this. In order to have a lower, more affordable monthly rate, you have to increase deductibles (a god awful practice in my opinion) and increase co-pays. Sometimes, to make insurance affordable, one needs to have a deductible of over one thousand dollars! This means that you need to pay a total of $1,000 in medical bills before the insurance company wills even look your way. Some people wouldn’t use that in a year, rendering their insurance useless, you are paying them for nothing. And let’s say you made your deductible within 11 months of your policy. That means you have one month to get sick where your insurance will cover it, so make sure you make it good! Either way, higher fees or higher deductible, added up for the year is still more than most will spend if they paid out of pocket. It is a scary thought. To prove this, I googled insurance companies, making sure to include the words “cheap” and “discount” multiple times. After getting a tirade of phone calls (I stupidly entered my phone number on the info page) the lowest quote I got was $240 per month, with a $500 deductible, and NO DENTAL! Noe, that does not sound easy and affordable to me, no one bit. Did I mention I am a healthy 28 year old with no significant medical history, who doesn’t smoke? I’d hate to see the quotes for everyone else I know! :o)
But the subject of the hen’s conversation was prenatal care. With this, I have experience from both sides of the fence, and while the grass may be greener, it all still has the same shade of brown from where you’re standing. During my first pregnancy, I was covered under my then-husband’s rather marvelous insurance. (yes, I said marvelous, there was a short time there that’s fit into the hen crowd) I had the most amazing doctor with the most amazing care, and a private hospital which treated me like a princess. It was an amazing experience. It was expensive insurance with high copays, and i found out months later that i had an outstanding bill from the hospital for the little things they snuck in which weren’t covered… But life changes, and so did I. Being divorced and with no insurance, I found myself pregnant for the second time by my now-fiancé. I was working at the time, but could not afford the insurance through my job. It wouldn’t have been tight, it wouldn’t have worked at all. Plus, it was the same as the state’s insurance, only not free. VERY not free.
So I did what any smart mother to be would do and that was to scour the planet for medical coverage. All it took was one phone call, about a hundred forms, and a 3 week wait for my letter. I was accepted into the dreaded state insurance. I immediately called my old doctor, who I loved very much, and instead of being greeting by the friendly and helpful voices I had grown so accustomed to, it was a quick nope, we don’t take THAT insurance. Like she was offended I even asked. Like it was profanity to her delicate ears. Fine, I don’t need you guys, I never really liked you that much anyway. Really… (tear, sniff sniff)
What I did get was proper medical care. No frills, no personalities, but adequate care. I was healthy, my baby was healthy, and I didn’t have to pay a dime. Which was good, because I only had about a nickel. With all this came a wonderful program called WIC (women, infant, children) which pays for all healthy foods for you- bread (whole wheat only) eggs, milk, cheese, rice, peanut butter, fruits and veggies… Everything to grow a healthy baby. Hmmm… My “marvelous” doctor never offered any of that… The best part is, WIC continues until the baby is 6 years old. Healthy mommy, healthy baby, healthy kid. And a one on one with a nutritionalist once a month isn’t too bad either! While the care was not personal, and often quite time consuming, they covered it all. Right down to the hospital grade breast pump, free of charge! They kept me healthy, well fed, a well pumped. Not to mention I got to give birth at the country’s most prestigious teaching hospitals. While I did have about a thousand complaints going through the process, blame it on the fact that all I did was compare them to my old doctor, or the fact that I had never wanted to be on state in my life, things ran pretty smoothly. I did have some important complaints back then, but now they really don’t seem quite that important.
The health care for expectant mothers isn’t terrible at all. In fact, it was pretty, well, “marvelous” especially at the cost. They have terrific programs for women who need help, and they are very willing to help, you just have to ask, and not just let things happen. I made the mistake of using their normal clinic instead of researching a private doctor who accepted my insurance, and for that, i was herded like cattle; well taken care of cattle. So don’t let others form your opinion for you. I had nothing but bad things to say about anything state related, but I know now that is just arrogant, ignorant gossip. You have to jump the fence and run a mile before you can judge anything…. Or anyone…
I am really just winging it here,writing what’s on my mind when I finally sit down to write. Feel free to shoot me some comments on ideas on how to make my brand spanking new blog some fun! Heres a challenge, give me a topic, any topic, and I’ll go to town on it!
Chao for now, with X’s and O’s
And who am ? Just Call Me Crazy… 🙂
Just Call Me Crazy 