First Doctor Visit in Five Years-Thanks to the Medicaid Expansion
I went to the doctor for the first time in five years today. Although I'm young, I had neglected a couple of health issues for at least a year. I couldn't afford care and was left hoping none of them developed into anything more serious. As a small business owner who narrowly missed the threshold for buying on the exchanges, I'm enrolled in Medicaid for this year until I can bump my income up a bit. The day my confirmation of benefits and card came was among the best of my life. I nearly broke down in tears.
But that isn't what this diary is about. Today, I went to the doctor for the first time in five years and saw first hand why Republicans have fought tooth and nail for a system that was so broken for every single stakeholder - except the insurers and the politicians who enable them.
What I found made my blood boil. Follow below the fold for a living example of what our "health care system" could have done to me and millions of others before the ACA. Let's just say the cheesy poof holding the fold would have been more than the food in my pantry.
The catch was that I'd have to be reimbursed for today's visit because I wouldn't show in the system until tomorrow. No big deal. But it was this that gave me a peak inside the profits Republicans are paid so well to protect.
Hang with me as I do the math here on paper. It isn't a small number.
13.5 hours of work for the visit + 100 hours for standard preventative lab work + 360 hours for one year of a generic medication = 473.5 hours of work.
At 40 hours a week, that's nearly 12 weeks of work. Or 3 full months. IF you can find full-time work. For one visit, normal lab work, and a necessary medication.
Let that sink in.