So let’s get a little personal.
I went to the lady doctor today (which is my polite way of saying I went to the gynocologist) and, as it turns out, I have a lump in my breast.
It is apparently not cancerous, yet concerning enough that I have an appointment for an ultrasound tomorrow.
Do you want to know what my first thought was?
I hope I can afford this.
Truthfully, I can’t.
I work for a small (but AWESOME) software company. There are roughly 20 of us and 9 of us in our Wichita office. Our insurance is pretty basic. A high-deductible plan, if you will. It definitely covers my annual exam (the reason for today’s visit… sorry for the TMI, but I do, in fact, have a vagina), but not much else. This is now rapidly approaching the zone called “out of my pocket,” in which there isn’t a whole lot of funding budgeted for things like lumps in the breast.
So when we talk about IMPORTANT ISSUES like universal health care plans or government (“socialized”) supported health care, you can bet I’m listening.
Am I excited about the prospect of huge bills to pay? No. But do I need to understand the magnitude of THIS THING that is growing in my left boob? Yes.
I’m scared. I’m not rich. I make a good living, but I’m not prepared for things like ultrasounds and mamograms and potentially biopsies.
As I told my (painfully conservative, yet amazing) mother earlier, “I wish I lived in Canada.”
When I worked for the second largest privately held corporation in the world (I’ll let you figure that out) a year or two ago, this wouldn’t have concerned me as much because my insurance coverage was pretty awesome. But it is not so awesome now. And I feel like I’m being punished as the employee of a fantastic, growing business. I love my job. I love the company I work for. And yet, my insurance coverage is sub-par because I work there.
America is supposed to be the land of opportunity, not the land of crazy high insurance premiums and the fear of doctor’s visits.
And yet, it is.
(As a sidenote, if you pray, would you pray for me? If you don’t, would you keep me in your thoughts? I’m trying not to be scared about tomorrow, but I am.)
