What a @*&$!#% end to my days off.... (rant)

[Systematic Chaos]

Well, here I am sitting here with an infection in my left eye that came up out of nowhere when I woke up around noon on Friday. My eye was all gummy and runny and I was hoping against all hope I wouldn't end up with a problem that would require treatment.

I spent the day with my lovely wife shopping at Target for various items, and Trader Joe's for grocries, but by the time we were on our way back home I could barely keep my eyes on the road. My wife could drive, but she only has an instruction permit and I don't like the though of making her contend with Friday evening traffic in Vegas.

So, after driving my wife to her job (graveyard shift in a C-store), I decided to head over to the quick care center and have a doctor prescribe me some stuff to get rid of this. He performed a thorough corneal examination and determined that I'm otherwise okay, which is wonderful. The real upsetting shit started when I found out that my insurance company (Health Plan of Nevada) has raised all of its co-pays. Turns out that a quick care visit has gone from $15 to $20. That isn't too bad. What WAS bad was when I went to Walgreen's to fill my prescription for Ocuflox drops for my eye and the co-pay for THAT medication was a whopping $45 instead of the usual $5, because Ocuflox isn't on their friggin' "preferred" list or whatever they call it. And no, there's no generic and no other equivalent besides some nasty ointment with erythromycin (sp?) in it that is similar to trying to view the world through a jar of Vaseline.

So, just when I thought we were a couple hundred dollars ahead of the game, as opposed to barely scrimping by paycheck to paycheck, I can now count myself out of $70 for office visit plus two prescriptions, as well as missing a day of work during a VERY busy week in which dealers' tips will be running far above the norm. So, there goes the couple hundred bucks I thought we had for just a bit of breathing room while we wait another two years for my car to be paid off.

Sorry about this long rant. I just had to vent right about now and you guys are the only ones I have, other than my cats who obviously can't speak English or read. Thank you if you made it this far....

[Benhurst]

1. As Bette Davis once said,

"What a dump!"

Affordable, decent medical care is too much to expect in BushAmerica.

[area51]

2. healthcare

I'm sorry this happened to you, Kirk. It is one of the things that shows how much we need universal healthcare in the U.S. so people don't go bankrupt trying to pay for medical care. If universal healthcare is good enough for presidents & congress, it's good enough for those of us who pay their salaries.

[Systematic Chaos]

3. You are both absolutely right.

And the thing is, I'm not sure what is worse. Knowing that the cost of health care is outrageous, or that there are so many employers out there who aren't obligated BY LAW to compensate employees for time missed from work when there is documented proof of a problem that required medical attention.

Oh well, s**t happens. I will be back at work on Sunday and life will go on.