I’m 21 and a part-time student. The only time I’ve had medical insurance in the last 10 years was accident and sickness insurance from my college, which was bundled into my massive $43,000 private school tuition costs. This insurance, had I needed it, would have covered a couple clinic visits, only a couple thousand in hospital bills (maybe an MRI, anything else and I’d be fucked), and $100 worth of Rxes. (My Ambien CR alone was $180 for 30 tablets.)
When I was in high school, my high school referred my mom to NJFamilyCare but we had too much in assets– my parents were living off borrowed money for years.
Things I’ve learned since turning 18 about how to survive without insurance:
1. Get a reasonable primary care doctor. Mine’s a dick and will only give me a month refill at a time so I’d have to spend $100 to go in just so he could write me a new script for the same stuff. If it’s a maintenance medication that you’ve been on for a while, unless you’re being monitored for changes, you should get a 6 month supply.
2 . Planned Parenthood for gynecological health. I was a little worried I would get sub-par care at an abortion factory, but Planned Parenthood turned out to be the shit. They were quicker and more professional than my regular gyn, and I will never go back to that lame office (2 month wait for an annual exam, wtf?) again.
Prices vary per clinic, but I went to one for an exam, comprehensive testing (pap, HIV, Chlamydia), and birth control. I got a 2 months supply of a low-hormone generic birth control right at the clinic and the total bill at the end of the day $98.
Also, they were able to get me on a prescription assistance program and I was able to get my first shot of the HPV vaccine for only $31.
3. On that note, you can ask your physician about prescription assistance programs, for certain medications. They’re usually offered by the pharmaceutical company and go by the federal poverty line for income.
4. AAA prescription discount. If you cant afford insurance, most likely you can’t afford a motor club plan, but in case you do, you can get Rx discount.
5. Keep your eye open for free deals. Some hospitals offer free clinics for routine procedures like breast exams and pap smears. I’ve seen flyers for these clinics in doctor’s offices.
The dentist I switched to offered a free exam and free Xray to all new customers, so I coupled that with a cleaning, all for $90.
6. Ask questions and avoid unnecessary testing. Every time a doctor recommends a procedure, ask how much it will cost. If you don’t understand why you need it, ask why.
If you’re in the ER, ask if your doctor is a resident, what year (first years have the least experience), and if they cleared all procedures with their attending.
Doctors are not infallible human beings. Thousands of mistakes are made each year and sometimes people die as a result. If something really doesn’t feel right, get a second opinion.
Planned Parenthood is a Pussy about Litigation
The Young Turks discuss a pro-life group’s “sting” operation at Planned Parenthood:
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Sex-selective abortions are legal in Austin, Texas. The counselor explained to the woman her options available under the law. Live Action reportedly edited out the part of the video where she talked about adoption as an option.
Planned Parenthood fired the woman anyway, because it is against their policy to advocate sex-selective abortion. They then said they were “retraining” their employees. That’s what really bothers me about this story; if they failed to train their employees properly to begin with, then that is on them, not her. This woman, who seems like a thoroughly decent person, shouldn’t have her career ruined because of this stupid video. As TYT points out, it legitimizes the effectiveness of what is essentially propaganda.
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I went to Planned Parenthood today. I’ve been going there for years for my pills, and this was the first time I ever actually saw a protestor with a fetus poster. He looked very lonely.
Anyway, I was on Yaz a few years ago and in addition to the lack of baby, it made my skin pregnancy-glow awesome. I quit due to costs. (It’s a relatively new drug and I’m sure has a long patent life ahead.) But today I mentioned possibly switching my pill back. The doctor said it is now Planned Parenthood’s policy to no longer prescribe Yaz due to the increased risk of embolism.
It’s time for another edition of “Candice Reads Primary Source Articles So You Don’t Have To.”
Here’s the Yaz (drospirenone) study from BMJ:
The study methodology looks pretty solid to me. It had a good sample size and controlled for a lot of variables. The important part to take away is the interpretation of the conclusion.
What’s the baseline risk for venous thromboembolism?
The risk, like everything, depends on your genes. The incidence of VTE* is about 1 in 1,000 each year, which, if you think about in terms of percentage, is a 0.001% rate. Men are at higher risk than women. Asian and Hisapnic women are at lower risk than Caucasian or African. High BMI is also a risk factor.
Those stats not only include men, but whatever women were on birth control. So even if you multiply that risk by seven (6-7 times more at risk than women not on birth control is what the BMJ study suggests), I still don’t think it’s clinically significant. If it was, the drug would have been pulled from pharmacy shelves a long time ago.
As a skinny, half-Asian, with no family history of VTE, I want my Yaz back.
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*American Heart Association