From: Sunshine and Potatoes

I don’t have health insurance. I haven’t had any since last January. It used to be because I was unemployed. Now I have a job and I still don’t have any. Why? Because I’m worried and scared and don’t want more stress.

Back in April I was offered health insurance by the temp agency I was working for. I was extremely grateful and immediately signed up. I made an appointment at a local clinic since it would take too long to go through a dr’s office. It still took a while to get an appointment.

On the day of my appointment I was excited. It felt good to be going to the dr and I needed a prescription re-filled. I had seen this Dr. before. She is very nice and helpful and I enjoyed seeing her again. Everything was fine and I got a new prescription. Then the next day I went to Target to get it filled. “That will be $185” the cashier said. Excuse me? I thought I hadn’t heard her right. She repeated the same price. I was floored. I was working as a temp. I barely had enough money for rent and a few groceries. I held back tears as I apologized and said I could not afford it.

I sat at home feeling greatful that my prescription was for something I didn’t need and pissed that I was still unable to fill it. I picked myself up, reminded myself that this wouldn’t be forever and went about my life.

Then I got a letter in the mail. I owed my insurance company for my dr visit. I called and found out that my health insurance had ended the day before my appointment. Not only had I paid for a month’s worth of health insurance I was unable to fill my prescitption and I still had to pay full price for my appointment.

And this wasn’t the first time I had been charged for a regular yearly doctors visits. Even when I did have health insurance I had to fight tooth and nail with my health care provider numerous times. Once they charged me for the same service twice and another time they categorized an appointment the wrong way. Not to mention the trouble they gave me when I wanted the HPV vaccine.

All of this is to say I’m scared of getting health insurance and dealing with the same problems. Finding out I can’t fill prescriptions or spending hours on the phone trying to resolve problems. And to think that this is not even close to the crap that a lot of people have to deal with. I hope that President Obama is successful and we are all able to have the health care we deserve.

As for right now—I’m going to buy health insurance. Because even though I’m healthy now doesn’t mean I will be tomorrow.
—Grace Garner