Insure-Me-Woes

Like most people my age, 26 brings with it not just another year, but also the loss of... dun dun dun! Insurance! Health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, they're all goooooone! And just for me, my student loans and car insurance also happen to come due this month, because when it rains it pours people.

Putting aside the major suck that is going to be forking over the contents of my bank account for insurance every month, losing coverage also means I have to cram all the fun and scintillating medical procedures I don't really want to have into the next two weeks.

Since continuing my current coverage through cobra isn't an option, unless I want to pay triple individual rates, it looks like I will not be buying a separate dental or vision plan. That makes vision and dental stuff top priority to get done before I lose my coverage.

Thus far, my to do list is:

• An eye exam - No changes, all good
• Order backup glasses - Still need to do, and quickly!
• Dental cleaning - Check!
• Oral surgery consultation - Done!
• Gum graft surgery - Ugh. Next week.
• Apply for Health Insurance - Don't have any words for this one. I still haven't done it yet although I've done all the pre-work. 

 

Genetically, people on my sperm donor's side of the family have crappy mouths.  They have genetically sucky gums in the front, genetically missing teeth and a whole host of other weird dental stuff. Luckily, I've escaped almost everything. I've never had a cavity and my teeth are great, but it's become apparent that the bastard gave me his shitty gums in One tiny spot. Literally just one teensy spot while the rest are perfect. I have to have a little graft to fix it and it looks like I'll be squeezing it in just under the wire, literally days before my coverage ends. Even with the coverage I'm sure I'll still be out at least a grand, but it's better than owing the whole bill.

Now I just need to decide which insurance plan I want. It's all unnecessarily complicated - Co-payments? Deductibles? Out of Pocket Max? Do I want an HMO? A PPO? Ugh. It's all so much more expensive than it should be, and it seems that no matter how I slice it, I'll end up paying either upfront, ie month to month, or in the end, with a deductible. I've got to get a better handle on what each plan means.