You know how often times blogs will preface an entry with a “Warning: Spoilers Ahead!” label if they’re going to give away parts of a TV show or something? Well, I feel as if I should begin this post with a “Warning: I Was Spoiled and Now I’m Not and That Makes Me Bitter” label. Consider yourself warned.
Being an unemployed graduate has taught me (more like forced me to learn at times) a lot about a plethora of things pertaining to surviving on a day-to-day basis. Two days ago I completely scratched up the side of my car while attempting to navigate my landlord’s dumbly designed driveway as I was trying to leave for work. That little incident forced me to look into the subject of automobile body work, a subject I know nothing about. Another life matter that I have had to get hip to as of late is health insurance.
When I first graduated I was on a private COBRA plan in Connecticut that was insanely expensive. Like one month’s rent expensive. So with the help of my mom I switched to a Massachusetts plan- a cheap one. The cheapest non-subsidized (Non-subsidized means I pay totally out of pocket, the government isn’t helping me at all) plan I could find in fact. And it seemed okay at first- I went to a doctor who was covered by the plan, she seemed nice enough, she renewed my prescriptions, and I left without a co-pay. Nice no? Well, fast-forward to when I want, no wait- NEED, my prescriptions, and a pharmacy worker at CVS tells me that neither prescription is covered.
“Okay” I say, “Well I’ll just pay out of pocket. How much?” (Yeah right I’ll pay out of pocket. Little did I know..) The lady then tells me, “Okay, $250 for one and $100 for the other.” Say what!? That’s $350 a month! That’s a lot of money to keep my bronchioles’ chronic inflammation at bay (I have asthma and need a special inhaler that squirts steroids into me each day. I better not try to become an Olympic athlete or anything.) Needless to say, I couldn’t pay that and the day I find I can pay that amount for a little inhaler I’ll be sitting pretty. Or I’ll be desperate. (Though the new “covered” inhaler I got is Bates colors- garnet and grey. I say “covered” because it still cost me $100, which is why I’m searching for a new plan). But anyway, yes, I needed a new plan and I needed it right then.
So, my liberal arts research skills kicked in and I went online to surf the web for a less expensive way to stay “healthy”. I came across a subsidized plan for which I could be eligible through Massachusetts. So I filled out that application and had all the materials required for each section EXCEPT the employment section. Of course it’s the employment section that gives me grief, it always is.
Anyway, because I am technically working, though it’s temporary, I had to fill out the employment section which required copies of two of my most recent pay stubs to prove to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that I am below the poverty line. Unfortunately, I don’t even have all the documents I need to prove I have no money. Get this- you need PAYSTUBS to prove you have no money. How does that work!? Well anyway, I had to type up a little note explaining my predicament. Then I decided I would be better off giving someone a call- the Commonwealth Care help line probably could help me. So I call. And a very mumbly man picks up and seems disgruntled that I have a question. And he says he can’t help me (though the website says he can and I’m a product of the 21st century so what the interweb says, goes) and that he’s going to transfer me. And then he just leaves me on hold! He doesn’t even have the courtesy to hang up on me- I would have rather had him do that so I wouldn’t have stayed on the line for 6 unnecessary minutes.
So, I sigh and call back, making sure to press a difference sequence of numbers just so I don’t end up with the Health Plan Scrooge again. This time I reach a kind man who basically tells me to do everything I had already done- write a little note to the healthcare Gods explaining my bizarre employment predicament. So I included my little letter, sent off the application, and we’ll see what happens. I hope I get this new coverage because my prescriptions will be oh-so-much-more affordable (I think).
But, moral of this story, there are two: 1) Don’t always go for the cheap. Sometimes the cheap gives you your inhaler for the price of two cashmere cardigans. And don’t always trust the people who should know this information (like doctors) to actually know it or actually care. You’ve got to be on top of things in the post-graduate world. I find that many people don’t like to help me out or make things easy for me unless it’s my parents because they love me or Jordan because he loves me and I cook the dinners. 2) Educate yourself. I know health insurance and health plans have been all over the news lately and one can get sick of hearing about it. However, it is a big deal. And listening to NPR passively while you’re cleaning the bathroom doesn’t automatically mean you understand the workings of health insurance plans. Trust me, I know.
So, to help you out I’ve compiled a few resources that offer the basics of health insurance. They’ll help you understand a little of the jargon and might make you feel a little more calm with your impending entrance into the real world where medicine seems to be REAL hard to get.
What President Obama has to say about all this: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/
A useful glossary of terms courtesy of Alabama’s Department of Insurance: http://www.aldoi.gov/Consumers/HealthInsExplain.aspx
And of course, what list of links could be complete without Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_benefits
Shhhh,
Steph








