Middle Class and Medically Assisted

Lack of health insurance was a big factor in not getting right to planning a second child. All the weight I’d gained and not knowing anything about raising children were high on the list as well. When my son was born, my husband had a cushy job with decent health bennies. This cushy job sponsored the birth of my son and my cute little shop. And then his job went right away. And our health insurance evaporated as did my beautiful little shop.

Most of my adult life, I’ve not had health care. I took myself to a clinic and self-paid for my necessary treatments. I was well cared for. In fact, my resentments include expensive doctors I had when I was insured. And I still resent Blue Cross and Blue Shield, who, without any warning, increased my monthlies by two-hundred percent. And I dropped them like a hot rock.

Would you be shocked to hear that there is an ever increasing population of intelligent middle class people like me who can not afford health insurance? Nice intelligent people who run daycares and answer telephones and deliver flowers. We uninsured are not all indigent derelict ding dongs. I even have me a college de-gree.

My husband has shopped for affordable and independent healthcare but with no luck. Being self-employed, he doesn’t make enough even for these options. Or his pre-existing conditions sink him. Luckily, our son is covered under the Maryland Children’s Health Program. As in, we never pay anything for him. As for ourselves, we pay for doctor’s appointments out of our pockets which at $45 a pop, it’s still less expensive than the amount I’d have paid for an entire year of insurance payments.

I say, if I am in the hospital, then keeping me alive is more important the bills we’ll pay later. You pay whatever you need to. This unfortunately did happen to my husband on a business trip last year. Still paying that off. We’d love to create a health saving plan.

Upon finding out that I was expecting this second child, I immediately applied for and got a Medical Assistance card for the term of the pregnancy. Because as long as there is a baby in my belly that’s in need of coverage, Maryland will pay for all of it. I am amused by this now. Remember, I used to say I’d never do this.

I am equally tickled that all those people who’ve been expressing their dissatisfaction for paying for other people’s children, some of whom we know and love, will now have an opportunity to know the baby that their begrudged dollar has gone to. In fact they’ll be in love with the lucky little panhandling ingrate.

I chose to pass up the subsidized cheese I was offered. It’s all good.