I went to the clinic for an appointment today and as I was checking in, the lady (I don’t know what their titles are) asks if I’d like to make a payment on my bill. Granted, I know this isn’t really a choice. Just kind of sounds like it. The normal procedure would’ve started with me acting like I didn’t know which bill she was referring to, then making some statement about how I must’ve overlooked the bill, and then a polite “No, thank you. I’ll send a check later.” Followed by ignoring it for a couple more months. That was the old me, of course. I figured I had better start paying on this one before the surgery one comes in. Plus, I’m trying to face my bills, as noted in earlier posts.
So, I paid $30 for my copay and $20 on the bill. I move down the hall to the lab, get my blood drawn, and am told “okay, you’re all done.”
“What? That’s it? Am I supposed to have an actual appointment or something?”
I went back to the checkin area to find out if I was actually done. She pulled up her screen and said, “Yep, that’s it for today.”
Wow. Do you mean to tell me I just paid a $30 copay for that? And $20 on a bill I could’ve ignored longer. Plus I’ll have a bill from the lab. Hell no. Someone is going to see me, diagnose something, take my blood pressure, or weigh me.
Of course I imagined starting a riot in the waiting area. My inner self is actually the Incredible Hulk. Outer self just kind of pouts and leaves in a daze to ponder how a person can ever survive with medical bills. There are no coupons for blood tests, no buy one blood test get one free, no shopping around for a cheaper blood test. There isn’t even a season where medical bills are cheaper. If you’re sick or have an illness, you either stay sick, die or pay the medical bills.
What is even sadder for me, though is that I actually have insurance. Maybe it isn’t the greatest because I don’t feel like it pays anything, but I’m sure if I didn’t have it I’d be in even more of a mess. For that I am grateful. There are some budget battles that you just can’t fight. Guess medical expenses are one of them.