The case for health insurance

Things that are outside of our control happen to us every day and the hit to the pocketbook can be bigger than I ever imagined. A couple months ago, just a few weeks into the school year, Anastasia took a header off of her scooter and crashed hard on the sidewalk about halfway up the block. Her friend, Josephine, who was playing with her, rushed down to our house, where Orlando was sitting on the porch, then up to her own house where I was hanging out with her mother. Little girl was in pain, and there was an obvious bump on her forearm. It didn't take long for Orlando and me to decide that our Friday evening was going to be spent at the emergency room.

The ER docs were great, waiting until she had some strong pain relief on board before taking her for an x-ray. Once the pain killers had taken effect, she switched back into goofy mode.



After a couple hours, we were sent home with a very sleepy little girl in a cast up to her shoulder.



Bill to us for the evening (ER Co-pay): $50
Bill to insurance for the evening: $3,197.85

Two weeks later, we were back at the orthopedics office for a check up. The x-ray showed she was healing well, and Dr. Friend (I couldn't make that up) gave the okay to swap the big cast for a shorter one. Predictably, Anastasia picked a pink cast, which she wore for the following 5 weeks.



At the end of the 5 weeks, it was time to go back and have the pink one cut off.

Total co-pays for follow up visits: $40
Bill to insurance for follow ups: $2,401

We're a generally very healthy family, but this single accident could have cost us more than $5,500 out of pocket. Not exactly affordable.

One more example. I'm allergic to bees. I haven't been stung since high school, but I should still carry adrenaline with me all the time, just in case. This week, it was time to replace my Epi-Pen. It's been quite some time since I've gotten a new one, so I was surprised to find that the co-payment was more than three times the typical $10 fee for prescriptions. A quick look at the receipt showed that the non-insurance price for this lifesaving medication is

$827.95

I was shocked. Say what you want about the Affordable Care Act, but no one will convince me that anyone should be allowed to choose not to have health insurance. The ACA makes sure that those with pre-existing conditions can't be turned away and that everyone will be able to find a plan that covers the basics (like my two examples) that they can afford. Surely knowing you can afford to see a doctor, or have the lifesaving medication is worth more than a $4 latte every day?