Co-payment hell February 21, 2007
Posted by spacemom in : Life...otherwise, Kids, Fun with Crohn's Disease , 3 commentsYesterday, I read this post at Raising WEG. It was a very timely post as Luna awoke this morning covered in spots.
I called and got a morning appointment. We suspected, and it was confirmed, to be a reaction to the antibiotic she was on. Why was she on an antibiotic? For the staph infection she got on her finger while I was away in Florida. Turns out she chewed her cuticle while Soleil and I were gone. Jay saw it, put neosporin on it, and we watched it. By the next weekend, it was weeping green, so we got her into the doctor. She went on an oral antibiotic. I tell them that she is allergic to amoxicillian. Her sister and father are allergic to it as well. They all break out in spots.
The doctors insist that a young child grows out of those and we should use this antibiotic that is related to amox.
This has been a strange month for doctors. First, Soleil had an ear infection, $10 co-pay. Then the finger, $10 co-pay, plus today, $10 co-pay. Jay saw his doctor this month, $10 co-pay, okay, $40 in co-pays.
For us, this isn’t a big hit. But Massachusetts is requiring health insurance for all residents. This could be terrible for some families. The price of individual coverage was recently released as $380 a month. This is what a person would need to scrape together to get their own insurance under law. Think about it. Can you find an extra $380 a month? How about if you are single and trying to live in a high rent area?
When many decried this price, the industry replied with a $300 a month plan, but this isn’t much better. The original plan was for something to be offered at $250 or less a month.
We are in a position where we really need to fix our health care system. The small businesses claim that they shouldn’t take the hit on health care. I see their point, but what about the little guy who has to choose between buying health care and paying rent?
Food for thought.
