Today I made appointments for a few doctor visits over the next two weeks because without counting my dentist I haven't had a basic checkup, visual, primary, or otherwise in probably two years.  It's one of those things growing up that I sort of took for granted.  Every year, even if you forgot, they would call and remind you it was time, and work would let you take the time and you get a co-pay of $10-$20.  While my work is relatively helpful with giving time, it's now vacation time that has to be drained just to get regular checkups, plus the $1,500 deductible plus $1,250 out of pocket on top which has basically made it financially difficult to justify anything non-urgent.

I work for a very large company which makes billions in profits.  Our CEO gets millions per year. Yet three years ago they implemented a fun little thing called a high deductible health plan.  Touting "wellness," they gave us a choice of the $1,500 deductible vs. $2,500 deductible plan which doesn't count the out of pocket mentioned above.  Basically if you get really sick or require multiple non-preventive doctor visits, you owe almost $3,000 or almost $5,000, and that's just the individual plans; I shudder to think what the family plans are.  I have colleagues that have declined physical therapy, other basic medical care as I have, and various fairly necessary medical procedures since what once would have cost $20 now costs $2,000.

The carrots they dangle are called "Wellness Screenings" and "Wellness Assessments" which involve giving your personal data on BMI, smoking, drinking, diet, and a blood test for diabetes and cholesterol to these people who seem to be half insurance monitors and half corporate management. I also know from general chemistry knowledge that if they're taking blood they can test for other "risk factors" that you will be strongly encouraged through a phone-in nurse service on a regular basis to manage or will simply count against you (and this is not an illegal drug issue, that's separate as far  as I know).  For completing these programs they contribute $400 to your MRA (medical reimbursement account) which is pre-tax dollars to contribute to your giant deductible. Yet they push this screening constantly, despite thinking we should trust this from a company that decided a minimum $1,500 deductible was appropriate as the health plan despite giving 2% salary raises if you're lucky over the past 5 years? I find it hard to stomach in many ways partly because it makes me want to retch at the situation.

And yet this is accepted, even encouraged among corporations.  I know things in this country are screwed up, especially healthcare, although the ACA will help in many ways but to face it personally just makes me angry. And what particularly makes me angry is that while giving face value to wellness and health, companies with incredible resources to provide quality healthcare refuse to do so and in fact create even worse plans to justify these HDHPs, while their poorest workers get sicker as they refuse medical and basic maintenance health treatment because of the deductibles and waning earning potential to pay them.

It's the in-between period.  ACA is enacted, HDHPs are developing, and it's the transition between corporate healthcare and single-payer system healthcare but damn it sucks.  In the meantime I'll try to catch up on my doctor visits and get ready to pay around $3,000 this year despite having "health insurance."  Welcome to the new boss, same as the old boss (but worse).