back to health care

Well, if you're opposed to the health insurance reform plan, don't read this. You won't like it.

I've lived in Britain twice for a year each time, and health care there isn't perfect but hey, it's sure better than what we have here...

Brits who live in France say the French system (which is actually an insurance system, but it's run through the government so doctors don't have to jack up rates 30% so they can spend that trying to get paid...) is much better than the British system.

Martin just got a bill for $575 he owes in addition to the co-pay he's already paid (it was $25) for some tests. The problem is, he brings home about $180/week. He pays for food for his dogs, and some of the food for the house, and I've been making him pay for gas for the truck, and that doesn't leave a whole lot extra. I'm going to try to get them to reduce it, but we'll see. And this is with his wonderful insurance.

At least now he gets his epilepsy medicine through Kroger and it costs only $10 a month instead of the more than $150 we were paying before.

Back in the dark ages when I was a young adult, people (young men) were making career choices to try to avoid being drafted and sent to Vietnam, as they were opposed to the war, for various reasons. Now young people make career decisions not based on what they want to do, what they are good at, and where they can make a positive contribution, but on where they can get a job with health coverage. Things have changed. They may not be better, but they are certainly different.

Having said all that, back to being disabled. I think I'm getting used to it. I'm at least getting used to not working; this is something I've NEVER done. Not have a job, that is. I was off one summer (1976) when we were about to move to Kentucky. About two months, actuallly. And I didn't have a job for almost three months when I had Sarah, but I'm not sure that counts, because she was born mid-June, and I started back teaching part-time, three days/week, gone from home about three hours each time, mid-July. AND i was grading independent study papers from home, too.

And when Martin was born, Sarah was two, and I was teaching part-time at UK in the math department. He was born in January, and I had two Calculus II classes that semester, which met four days/week, MTRF. The UK Math Dept. was good to me; I didn't get any benefits and I didn't make much money, but I had a spouse with benefits for us all, and they scheduled me for the times I wanted. SO I could do two back-to-back sections with decent times; the graduate students got scheduled after I did. This is NOT normal procedure. But anyway, Tino was born on a Monday afternoon, and I had taught my classes already. I was out the rest of the week, so I missed three days, but one of them was a test day, so I only actually had to get somebody to lecture for me two days. I was back in the classroom on the following Monday.

I quit that when I went to work full time at LCC, where I'd been ever since, until I was made redundant there.

Next post will be about food.

Lillie