I Think There's One Too Many Digits

I just got an automated voicemail from the pharmacy that said "Your prescription is ready for pickup. It will cost $947.76." Clearly I need my hearing checked because I thought you just said that my prescription would cost more than NINE HUNDRED dollars.

I just came down with bronchitis, and my doctor prescribed an inhaler, which I've never had before, so I thought, well, that must be the culprit. Well, that, and I had changed insurance with my new job in April so I thought they must not have my updated insurance information on file. That part was true. But the $900 prescription was not the inhaler, nor the antibiotics, but the stuff I routinely take for hypothyroidism. Once they input my insurance info, the total for four prescriptions came down to $54.

You might be asking "What in the WORLD is her hypothyroidism medication made of? Magical fairy dust?! Gold??" Nope. It's all natural, actually. But it does make me even more grateful for health insurance. Unless I'm working for an employer that offers medical coverage, the only way I can get health insurance is through My Better Half. Because of pre-existing conditions, I don't qualify for any private health insurance. Trust me. I've tried. Eleven times. And I'm not talking about cancer or something serious. I have pretty standard, chronic medical issues that millions of other folks have, and which are easily managed through medication. I'm lucky to have conditions that are so easily managed, and to have good overall health. And I'm fortunate to have a job that offers health insurance. In my experience, many, if not most, of those toiling in nonprofits in particular don't get benefits with their jobs, and are left to fend for themselves on the "open market," only to find they can't get insured unless they have a spotless record of health. Which is why my blood boils over political debates that question the constitutionality of health care reform. Drives. Me. Crazy. Republicans and Tea Partiers Congress routinely makes it their business to block countless initiatives simply because they are introduced by and sponsored by the other party, and that practice especially drives me nuts with health care reform. Because, yes, let's put the interests of your own party in front of the needs of millions of people. And, no, don't offer any of your own alternatives to the reform to which you are so opposed. Just oppose, letting millions of people continue to flail around in a constantly shifting game of choosing which health concerns they can afford to treat.