So in the fall of last year I was, obviously, renewing my health insurance. When I got it for 2019 (which I signed up for when I started work there in 2018) I got the Cadillac plan -- high premiums for high deductibles, but more than any of the other plans available I got everything covered.
Why did I get the gold plan? I don't know. Maybe I was in a rush. Or, maybe I knew I was in a rush and wouldn't have time to think this over, and so I got the most expensive plan just to cover everything I didn't have time to mull over.
Nothing extraordinary happened last year. I had my usually doctor's and dentist's visits, saw my therapist, and got my nasal allergy medicine, but that's what happens every year, and so, even though I had peace of mind, there was no catastrophic accident that would have made me count my blessings that I upgraded my health insurance. Therefore, back in the fall, I decided I would get the bronze plan, the cheapest available (well, the cheapest available from the health insurance company my psychologist prefers), the one with the highest deductible but the lowest premiums.
But should I have? I was scared that karma and bad luck would mean that I would get into a car accident, be felled by a heart attack, need to go on medication for a chronic condition that developed this year, or something else crappy. And then I would rue all the out-of-pocket costs I would have to pay but would not have had to shell out had I stayed on the Cadillac plan. In the end, though, I figured that I was healthy enough whereby that decline in my health would not happen. Besides, the money I saved in premiums would more than offset any new medicines or surprise visits to the doctor I would have had to pay out this year.
Well, all of that thinking sure as shit didn't take into account a pandemic for a virus that could kill or at least maim people for many, many years. Some states, including Minnesota, are bending over backwards to help defray the costs associated with COVID-19, from antigen tests to the hundreds of thousands of dollars for long-term ICU treatment. But I still have to think that the out-of-pocket costs would, in the long run, save me more money had I stayed on the gold plan and not switched to the bronze plan.
My reticence never really faded away when I decided on getting the cheapest health insurance. My anxiety was compounded exponentially once the coronavirus hit. So besides the other reasons to be scared of this virus, I'm afraid that if I get this, it'll wipe me out financially. And that is why I take so many precautions in order to say away from this evil thing.
In a sense, I am counting down the days. With June 30 in the rear view mirror, I am halfway through living life on the edge/on a bronze plan. I just need to make it six more months, and then I'll be a good boy and pay the highest premiums for the best health coverage from now on. Wish me luck.
Why did I get the gold plan? I don't know. Maybe I was in a rush. Or, maybe I knew I was in a rush and wouldn't have time to think this over, and so I got the most expensive plan just to cover everything I didn't have time to mull over.
Nothing extraordinary happened last year. I had my usually doctor's and dentist's visits, saw my therapist, and got my nasal allergy medicine, but that's what happens every year, and so, even though I had peace of mind, there was no catastrophic accident that would have made me count my blessings that I upgraded my health insurance. Therefore, back in the fall, I decided I would get the bronze plan, the cheapest available (well, the cheapest available from the health insurance company my psychologist prefers), the one with the highest deductible but the lowest premiums.
But should I have? I was scared that karma and bad luck would mean that I would get into a car accident, be felled by a heart attack, need to go on medication for a chronic condition that developed this year, or something else crappy. And then I would rue all the out-of-pocket costs I would have to pay but would not have had to shell out had I stayed on the Cadillac plan. In the end, though, I figured that I was healthy enough whereby that decline in my health would not happen. Besides, the money I saved in premiums would more than offset any new medicines or surprise visits to the doctor I would have had to pay out this year.
Well, all of that thinking sure as shit didn't take into account a pandemic for a virus that could kill or at least maim people for many, many years. Some states, including Minnesota, are bending over backwards to help defray the costs associated with COVID-19, from antigen tests to the hundreds of thousands of dollars for long-term ICU treatment. But I still have to think that the out-of-pocket costs would, in the long run, save me more money had I stayed on the gold plan and not switched to the bronze plan.
My reticence never really faded away when I decided on getting the cheapest health insurance. My anxiety was compounded exponentially once the coronavirus hit. So besides the other reasons to be scared of this virus, I'm afraid that if I get this, it'll wipe me out financially. And that is why I take so many precautions in order to say away from this evil thing.
In a sense, I am counting down the days. With June 30 in the rear view mirror, I am halfway through living life on the edge/on a bronze plan. I just need to make it six more months, and then I'll be a good boy and pay the highest premiums for the best health coverage from now on. Wish me luck.
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