Living Without Health Insurance

Posted by Mary Rayme Aug 23, 2009

When I lived in the city and had a full time job I would have been horrified by the prospect of not having health insurance. Those poor, poor people who are not insured, how sorry I felt for them.

As a divorced single mom living in Appalachia, I have been without medical insurance for almost three years and this is what I have learned about taking care of my health. So what is it like to live without health insurance?

I have saved a lot of money by not paying for my health insurance. I could have opted to pay about $350 per month to cover my health insurance but I opted for food and paying rent. Now I have a GP who charges me between $20-30 every time I see him. That's about what my insured friends have to pay as a part of their health benefits, their co-pay. Through my local health department and thanks to funds from the Susan Komen Foundation, I get my yearly mammogram for about $15. I can get my blood tested for about $12 once a year for cholesterol and thyroid.

If I am really sick and suspect I need an anti-biotic or something more powerful I go to a clinic a few miles away that subsidizes my payment based on my income. When I had bronchitis this spring, I received an exam, a shot of Cortison, a breathing treatment, antibiotics and an inhaler all for about $25. All I had to do was provide a copy of my living-below-poverty tax return.

I used to take expensive birth control pills. Now that I'm over 35 that is not a safe method so I was able to go to my local health clinic and get a free exam and diaphragm.

There are other meds I take, one of which is available as a generic for $4 a month from WalMart. WalMart gives me an additional 10% discount just for being a local resident. So when I get my Flunisolide Nasal Solution for about $49, I get 10% off of that as well.

So what if something catastrophic were to happen to me? If I had to have an operation or go to the hospital? A friend of mine needed back surgery. He lived below the poverty line and had no assets, just like me. It was surgery he had to have and he went and talked to the hospital. His surgery was covered in full because of his low income. Do all hospitals work this way? I don't know.

I recently watched Michael Moore's documentary film Sicko. In the special features, a woman was interviewed about her healthcare research. She says that of all of the people who filed for bankruptcy in 2007, 75% had had a medical emergency that had brought them to broke. Of that percentage of people who declared bankruptcy, more than half of them had health insurance. So even having health care is no guarantee from losing everything you own, so what are you paying for?

No Healthcare is an Incentive To Stay Healthy

There is a Simpsons episode where Homer gorges himself so he can become overweight so he can go on medical disability and live off the government forever and ever. While it's funny, it's also true that we have a plague of overweight people who cost our healthcare system millions of dollars every year.

Not having healthcare is a huge incentive for me to stay healthy. I walk several times a week and do weight training at a local gym a couple of times a week. I eat lots of fruits and vegetables and limit the red meat intake. I drink a lot of water and get plenty of sleep. I keep my mind healthy by doing research and writing. I keep my life as simple as possible even as a single mom.

Healthcare reform has to happen before our government can supply us all insurance. Why do doctors perform so many unnecessary procedures? Why don't we practice prevention? Why do people have to go broke if they get really sick? Why do insurance companies have such byzantine bureaucracy and procedures? Our healthcare system is broken and needs to be fixed.