Last week I got some good news and some bad news. The good news: the Peace Corps had finally started reviewing my medical evaluation, which brings me one step closer to an invitation. The bad news: my polio vaccination from 1992 wasn't current enough to protect me in parts of the world where polio is still prevalent. In order to complete my medical review I needed to get another polio vaccination, and thus I embarked on a journey into that crazy world we call the American health care system.
Had they started this process just two weeks earlier this would have been a complete non-issue. I would have gone to the doctor, forked over my $20 co-pay, gotten the shot and been on my merry way. Unfortunately for me I was dropped from my parents' health insurance on July 29th, and so obtaining a routine childhood vaccination became a little more complicated. I called the insurance company just in case there was some sort of paperwork error that left me still covered, but when I entered my social security number and birth date I was informed by a most realistic computer woman that I had indeed been terminated.
At first I wasn't too concerned about the lack of health insurance. When I lived in Virginia I was able to get all of the vaccinations that my insurance wouldn't cover at the Prince Edward County Health Department for the cost of the vaccine and a small processing fee. Thinking this was a universal system, I called up the Ocean County Health Department. After being transferred to 4 different people I finally sound someone who at least understood what I was asking for, only to be referred to an low-income vaccination clinic because "we don't do that sort of thing here." The lead sounded promising so I gave the clinic a call, but they wouldn't treat me because I was over the age of 18. Thinking that perhaps there could be clinics in other parts of the state that would have mercy I began dialing the health departments in other counties. For the next two hours I dialed every single county in the state, and I got every response from open hostility to complete indifference, but nothing that could be classified as useful.
At this point it was pretty clear I wasn't going to get any help from the state of New Jersey, so I decided to start looking at other alternatives. I called the CVS Minute Clinic on a whim, because a few years ago I got my yellow fever vaccination at a Ukrops, but all they can really do at CVS is take your temperature. Strike one. Next I tried looking up every variation of "low-income health care NJ" that I could think of on Google, but all I really got back were advertisements for pharmaceuticals. Strike two. Finally I tried calling Centra State hospital to see if they had any ideas where I could look, but I got transferred 8 different times and finally ended up with a voicemail in spanish. Strike three.
By this time I had been on the phone for about 4 hours and I was starting to get really frustrated. It was clear that when this was all said and done my wallet was going to be considerably lighter, so I kicked into bargain hunting mode and began calling around. I started with a few travel clinics, but all of them wanted to charge me a first-time patient fee of $65 or more plus a $25 administration fee plus $75 for the actual vaccine. I decided to keep looking. Next I called all of the doctors offices in New Egypt. 2 were on vacation and 2 weren't taking any new patients. The cheapest office visit fee I found was Dr. Jiovani for $90, but he didn't have any appointments open until September. I finally settled on Dr. Byrnes in Allentown because he had an appointment open Wednesday at 4pm and they were willing to take me as a new patient.
Luckily this story has a happy ending. Dr. Byrnes only charged me $88, which I suspect is just the cost of the vaccine, AND he even gave me some advice on how to treat my IT band, which has been bothering me since March. He was also by far the best doctor I've ever been to see when it comes to actually listening to what you have to say and not trying to rush you in and out.
This has definitely been an eye-opener as far as healthcare goes. I honestly don't know enough about Obama's new plan to comment one way or the other, but I certainly don't believe the people that argue that everything is fine the way it is. This has also made me really grateful for my good health, because to be sick or injured without insurance in this country would put you in debt for a really long time. I would be eligible for health coverage from NYSC in December, but I don't know that I'll be with them for that long. For now I'll just keep my fingers crossed that I remain healthy and I'll be just a little more careful when I'm hiking and climbing.
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