I visited a Dermatologist today to check out a painful spot that had developed on my lip. It came up in conversation with his assisstant that I was a nurse. She glanced at my chart and remarked "I see you dont have insurance, and you're a nurse? How can that be? Surely you realize how important insurance is." My response "I dont buy into the insurance business and Im prepared to take the finacial risks that that may entail". She rolled her eyes and went on about her business. This is not the first time Ive caught flack for being a nurse and not having medical insurance, as if my involvement in the healthcare field should somehow guarantee that I be excluded from the millions of Americans living without health insurance.
The truth is, my employer does not offer coverage for part-time employees (which I choose to be due to family obligations). I could be added on to my husbands work policy on which he carries himself and our daughter but at a price of over $700 a month (heck he would practically be working for just insurance!). I could get my own policy to the tune of $150 a month and pay outrageous copays for every visit and Rx. But Ive found that barring any major emergency/Dx that Im coming out much better NOT having insurance. The dermatologist gave me a discount for paying cash so my bill was only $60 (an insurance copay would have been $70). When I get sick I go to urgent care where they also give cash discounts, I pay $86 whereas hubby and baby have an urgent care copay of $200. I go to the health dept for my yearly GYN visit and BC pills to the tune of $90 (as based on my income) whereas when I had insurance I paid $35 per visit plus $25 a month for Rx. Im saving a ton of money not being insured. Now I know that if anything major comes up Ill have a ton of bills to pay out of pocket, but thats why they make payment plans. I just cant justify paying $1800 a year for a healthcare discount program (i.e. Insurance)
And just because Im a nurse does not mean I should have to have insurance!
