Last week I ran into a problem with my vision. It wasn't major at the time, but it was worrisome. I had blood in my eye. I called and made an appointment with my optometrist, fully expecting a referral, but the earliest I could be seen was today, Tuesday.
Yesterday, not wanting to wait another thirty hours for the eye appointment I had set up for this afternoon, I called and asked if I could be seen sooner. Nope. Booked solid, but he asked me what was going on. I told him. He said (not quite, but it could well have been), "Great Scott! You have got to see someone right now!!!!" It was pretty much the last bit. The "You have to see someone right now" because he told me to call a retinal specialist immediately.
Long story short, I am not on the verge of losing some or all of my eyesight in my left eye. I do not have a retinal tear (which could affect my sight quite badly) or detachment (which would mean I would be blind if they couldn't fix it). I don't need surgery. I do, however, have a blood speck in my eye - which is what I'm seeing and what led to all of this.
It's an almost tear - a not quite tear where the gel that fills the eye has drawn away from the retina. If it had done so with force, I would have a tear and a blind spot pending repair involving surgery. If the surgery worked, which is not guaranteed.
With all of that though, and all of the expense associated, it got me thinking about Obamacare - the "Affordable" Care Act that was enacted a couple of years ago.
Do you realize that even though I am going to be out-of-pocket about $1,000 for all of this - $300 for the first doctor I saw, plus almost $500 for yesterday's visit to the retinal specialist, plus the charges I'll incur for the follow-up I have scheduled for Thursday, I am still ahead of the game without having health insurance?
If I had signed up through my company in January, I would have paid $500 per month for ten months in premiums. Out-of-pocket $5,000 to date.
Then, because of the $6,000 deductible the policy I considered carries with it, I still would have had to pay from my own account the $1,000 for the services I'll receive related to this.
So, instead of $1,000, my expenses thus far would have been $5,000 in premiums to date (January to October, for this year) plus $1,000 out of pocket for deductible expenses for a total of $6,000. And that's "Affordable".
No, thanks. At an 80% savings, I'll self-insure.
Now, if I did have to have surgery, there would be the question of which is cheaper. According to the nice lady with whom I spoke at the retinal specialist's office yesterday, the expenses for their services for yesterday's visit and the surgery and post-op would be about $2,300 to $2,500. Then there would be the hospital, the anesthesiologist, and nurses and all of that on top of it.
I still think I would have been in the black on that one. Because the premiums for me for one year are $6,000, plus the $6,000 deductible before benefits start opening up, that's a $12,000 window.
Say, $2,500 for the specialist, plus outpatient surgery of $6,000, plus the other expenses. It probably wouldn't have been more than $9,000 or $10,000, total - still under the $12,000 I would pay in premiums and deductible. Then, on top of the $6,000 premiums, if I was still under the $6,000 benefits threshold, I would still be paying the majority of cost for this stuff.
Hmmm. So, $6,000 for premiums plus $6,000 to satisfy the deductible = $12,000 versus $8,000 out-of-pocket. Which do you think is more affordable?
Looking at it from that perspective, the "Affordable Care Act" is anything but.
No, thanks. I'll self-insure and I suggest you think about doing the same.
Yes, there are fines being imposed by the IRS, but they're not as onerous as the premiums and deductibles which, I've heard, have gone up somewhere in the range of 30% to 40% in the past year.
You do know why they made this a mandatory thing, right? It's so you will pay for everyone else who can't afford the Affordable Care Act. They knew it would be too expensive for many. There are almost as many uninsured people now as before the law was passed and enacted. It's just that now, someone like me who cannot afford the $500 premium plus the medical outlay is a criminal. I'm breaking the law. How does that work in a democratric republic such as this country is supposed to be?
Oh well. That's a discussion for another day. In the meantime, stay healthy and have a lovely day!
Best~
Philippa
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Monday, September 28, 2015
I Believe It. I Really Do.
Whew! Monday came and I think I figured out why I felt like I was hit by a stampede this weekend.
Aside from the general stress of wedding stuff and standing around and walking for the better part of ten hours, I think it has to do with what I've been putting into my body.
I am not a big health freak. I do not do, I categorically refuse to do, the vegan "thing" or the vegetarian "thing". Human beings did not evolve with fad diets and affected (or effete) dietary restrictions. This is, I believe, another thing that leads to health problems because human beings did not evolve as vegetarians or vegans. We evolved the same as other creatures - with specific dietary requirements. Mess with those too much at your own risk.
So I am proud to be an omnivore with no significant health issues. If I crave something - be it grain, vegetable, dairy or solid protein, I eat it. I figure if my body is screaming for something it's because that something has something that my body needs. I am very much a believer in we are what we eat and sometimes the taste buds direct us down the wrong path for too long.
Given that I was still stiff and sore this morning, a highly unusual condition for me, I started thinking "what have I been eating lately?"
The answer to my internal query is: protein. Thinking back for the past couple of weeks, I have been eating lentils, beans, meat, more meat, eggs, more... protein. Very little in the way of grains and veggies.
This, I suspect, is why my muscles and joints are aching. So I stopped at the store this morning and bought a container of tomato soup and another of chicken corn chowder. Yes, the latter has protein, but in such a negligible amount it doesn't count. I also bought a couple of rolls. Not health food stuff, at all, but bread. Ate one and immediately started feeling a little better. Despite my craving to chow down on the other one, too, I held it back and will have it tomorrow. After all, enough is enough, right? That, and the bagel... With the whipped cream cheese (mostly air so a little goes a long way). It does tell me, though - both the speedy response of my feeling better and the intense desire for more - that my body does need something other than protein.
Next I'll get some greens - kale and other stuff - and do that, too. In a couple of days, if I'm right about what's wrong, I'll feel much better. I suspect that I'll even start sleeping better with fewer 'power surges' and 'night glows' ('sweat' brings up too unpleasant an image, even if it is factual, so I'll go with 'night glow').
I've also solved the walking problem - the concern about the reason for my daily excursion down the street, etc.
We've had another change in staff here and things need to be gotten back under control in one area. I volunteered to help and now I'm up and down the street twice as much as I used to be. Heck, this morning was great! I walked down to drop off some of the what needs control, came back and a calendar reminder had popped up. I was supposed to be down the street for a meeting in... oh, two minutes. Grabbed the laptop and hustled back down the street.
Twenty minutes later I'm back here. Then, after I finish up my lunch (and this post), I'll get back to controlling what's run rampant, and will have another "excuse" to hustle down the street and back. That'll clock about a mile on the odometer. So, no need at all to worry about the walking. It's taken care of for the foreseeable future.
And joy of joys! I am feeling better. Isn't it great when you pay attention to your body and the signals it sends? I'll see how long it lasts, but for now, it's all good.
I hope you are too, and that you're having a spectacular Monday!
Best~
Philippa
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories
Aside from the general stress of wedding stuff and standing around and walking for the better part of ten hours, I think it has to do with what I've been putting into my body.
I am not a big health freak. I do not do, I categorically refuse to do, the vegan "thing" or the vegetarian "thing". Human beings did not evolve with fad diets and affected (or effete) dietary restrictions. This is, I believe, another thing that leads to health problems because human beings did not evolve as vegetarians or vegans. We evolved the same as other creatures - with specific dietary requirements. Mess with those too much at your own risk.
So I am proud to be an omnivore with no significant health issues. If I crave something - be it grain, vegetable, dairy or solid protein, I eat it. I figure if my body is screaming for something it's because that something has something that my body needs. I am very much a believer in we are what we eat and sometimes the taste buds direct us down the wrong path for too long.
Given that I was still stiff and sore this morning, a highly unusual condition for me, I started thinking "what have I been eating lately?"
The answer to my internal query is: protein. Thinking back for the past couple of weeks, I have been eating lentils, beans, meat, more meat, eggs, more... protein. Very little in the way of grains and veggies.
This, I suspect, is why my muscles and joints are aching. So I stopped at the store this morning and bought a container of tomato soup and another of chicken corn chowder. Yes, the latter has protein, but in such a negligible amount it doesn't count. I also bought a couple of rolls. Not health food stuff, at all, but bread. Ate one and immediately started feeling a little better. Despite my craving to chow down on the other one, too, I held it back and will have it tomorrow. After all, enough is enough, right? That, and the bagel... With the whipped cream cheese (mostly air so a little goes a long way). It does tell me, though - both the speedy response of my feeling better and the intense desire for more - that my body does need something other than protein.
Next I'll get some greens - kale and other stuff - and do that, too. In a couple of days, if I'm right about what's wrong, I'll feel much better. I suspect that I'll even start sleeping better with fewer 'power surges' and 'night glows' ('sweat' brings up too unpleasant an image, even if it is factual, so I'll go with 'night glow').
I've also solved the walking problem - the concern about the reason for my daily excursion down the street, etc.
We've had another change in staff here and things need to be gotten back under control in one area. I volunteered to help and now I'm up and down the street twice as much as I used to be. Heck, this morning was great! I walked down to drop off some of the what needs control, came back and a calendar reminder had popped up. I was supposed to be down the street for a meeting in... oh, two minutes. Grabbed the laptop and hustled back down the street.
Twenty minutes later I'm back here. Then, after I finish up my lunch (and this post), I'll get back to controlling what's run rampant, and will have another "excuse" to hustle down the street and back. That'll clock about a mile on the odometer. So, no need at all to worry about the walking. It's taken care of for the foreseeable future.
And joy of joys! I am feeling better. Isn't it great when you pay attention to your body and the signals it sends? I'll see how long it lasts, but for now, it's all good.
I hope you are too, and that you're having a spectacular Monday!
Best~
Philippa
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories
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