We went to a friend's birthday party at the martini bar last night. It was really fun just laughing and chatting with people, and it was the perfect size group. I think I'm still high on the positive energy today.
Mornign all. I think it'll be one of those days. I had Friday and Monday off. I have come back to 54 emails. How does that happen? I also came back to a pile of mail and a bottle of wine. I wonder how much mail is in my mailbox downstairs too.
Let's get going on this mess.
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Stop trying to be what you see. Be what you ought to be.
Mornign all. I think it'll be one of those days. I had Friday and Monday off. I have come back to 54 emails. How does that happen? I also came back to a pile of mail and a bottle of wine. I wonder how much mail is in my mailbox downstairs too.
I didn't sleep well. Early this morning I got really itchy. When I got up and looked in the mirror, I saw that my neck is all red and broken out. I'm not on any meds, I suspect that it's one of the drugs from the surgery finally working its way out. I don't know what else it could be as nothing else has changed from the norm.
Well, the statement from the local hospital came in for my ER visit . . . $2,055. It's insane that this medical stuff costs so much.
The other hospital where I had the surgery gave me an estimate of $9,100 for the gall bladder removal procedure. They told me that my deductible is $1,000 plus 20% so that would mean my cost would be about $1,800. They tried REALLY hard to get me to put money down on that ahead of time, trying to sell it as a service to me so I wouldn't have so much to pay later. I said that I didn't have the ER bill yet and that would run through the insurance first so I'd just wait until it all ran through the insurance and take care of it once the insurance is filed. Glad I did that now, it looks like I'll be paying about $1,200 to the local and $800 to the surgery hospital.
Ugh. If you don't have insurance, don't get sick. Heck, if you DO have insurance, don't get sick.
Yeah, I figure I'm really risking it by not having insurance. I need to get a high deductible insurance with an HSA plan, but the problem is that I would be required to put the money in myself. And I don't know the current state of HSAs, they get really confusing. But in these past 4 years that I haven't had insurance, I know I've saved a ton of money. I wish I could take the money I should be paying on a premium and just put it in a savings account to use on any medical bills, but I don't have the dedication to do that on a regular basis. Maybe I should make that my New Year's resolution.
Right now, the bank is taking $350/month out of Mrs Web's check for health insurance. They pay more than that themselves as a benefit. Yes, it would be nice to have that money back, but my colon surgery in '04 was right at $60k total and this one will be about $11,000. I think we're still ahead at this point. I read that 20% of Americans have their gall bladder out at some point during or after their 40's. 20% is a pretty high percentage.
Looking at this bill, they charged over $200 to hook me to an EKG for 10 minutes to make sure I wasn't having a heart attack (I don't think they REALLY suspected I was having a heart attack anyway). It was over $600 for two xrays and an ultrasound (nope, not pregnant). It's insane what this medical stuff costs. I know some people blame the insurance companies for the high prices, but I just don't believe that those minor things should be so expensive to begin with.
Oh, here's another one . . . they charged an extra $93 (on top of the $250) for extended time I was in the ER. Why did I have to spend extra time in the ER? Because we were waiting until 7:00am to do the ultrasound. Why were we waiting until 7:00am? Because that is when the lady that does them starts her shift. That is the kind of stuff that makes me angry about it all. They charge for more time because we are waiting for THEIR employee to come to work.
Oh, and to top it off, since the ultra sound tech just got in when she did me . . . the jelly stuff wasn't warm yet. I think I should get a discount for cold jelly.
