Insured, But Not Really

I've been insured all my life, but for years now it feels like I'm not. I pay almost $300 a month for a high deductible insurance policy, so unless I have surgery or have a catastrophic illness, I will have to pay over $9,000 that year before insurance kicks in outside of the wellness visit.

I just received my bill for a visit to the dermatologist. I didn't go for cosmetic reasons. I have a history of basal cell carcinoma skin cancer (the most common type) and have to get thoroughly checked each year. The doctor found three areas of concern, removing a suspicious mole, and scrapping off two other red spots. Only one had skin cancer cells, which meant scraping deeper on a second visit.

But the real tragedy happened today when I received my insurance statement. The doctor's office billed my insurance company almost $5,000 for those three simple procedures. My part is only $2,161.

Now I really feel sick.

I am presently unemployed living off of my savings, helping my father take care of my mother, who's in the advanced stages of ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. I'm grateful that I can do this for her. I don't know how long she'll be with us, but I do know how long I'll be able to take care of her during the day, based on my savings. When it's gone, I'll have to get a job.

And although I'm paying money every month to be insured, I don't feel insured at all. What I will have to pay the skin doctor means 43 days lost of caregiver time with my mother. Last year a visit to the emergency room took away 20 more days.

As for the follow up visit with the dermatologist in six months, I don't plan to go.