Last Sunday, I was at work, grinding my teeth at yet another irritating customer (no, this table isn’t heavy at all, I would love to hear you complain about how the high the prices here are at the thrift store. Oh, setting this down is rude, because I’m not giving you my full attention. Ah, so you can get this same item new for cheaper at Target. That’s lovely. If that’s the case, why don’t you buy it there?) when suddenly my tooth started to hurt. By the end of the night, it was really starting to hurt, particularly when I tried to chew anything. By the next morning, I was in wake-up agony.
Not being a fan of pain, I called in sick to work* to go the dentist. A few hours later, and an x-ray picture, then a few more hours later with a specialist and the verdict is in- I need a root canal. Well, I need to get a root canal redone. Apparently, they didn’t do it right the first time.
So, we schedule it for Wednesday, in the mean time, give me some nice antibiotics and some Vicodin.** I show up on Wednesday, and of course, the first thing that needs to be done is the payment.
I have dental insurance through Hubby. Hubby gives up about a third of his paycheck to make sure we have insurance. So, I only have to pay 20% of the cost.
20% of the cost is 300 dollars. So, basically, at the beginning of the month, we’re short 150 dollars for rent. All for the joy of having a root canal.
My tooth is doing much better. I have to go in again to get it refilled, and then I have to pay even more money to get a crown. Hubby and I will find a way to make up the extra 150- I think we’ll probably just ask the rental company to give us a day extension, they’re normally pretty good about that, or we’ll get a pay-day loan from the ‘rents. But, if we weren’t coming from parents that had that sort of extra loanable cash, we’d be at the sharks at the pay-day loan places mercy. As it stands, it’s another chicken and rice month at the Antigone house.
We are responsible. We have health insurance (thank you, Hillary, 20-somethings do in fact get it when we can afford it). I brush my teeth every day. And we have plenty of wiggle room. And this almost kills us.
We need health care reform in this country. Badly.
*They required a doctor’s note. Can you believe it? The night before I tell them that my tooth hurts, I call in, way before my shift to say I’m going to the doctors, and they demand a note for my crappy retail job.
** Fun fact- vicodin does not actually work real well for me. It actually makes me puke AND one of the pills wasn’t enough to kill the pain. It takes two and an Aleve.
I am guessing I didn’t read the proposal as closely as I thought I did…I was not counting on dental coverage…wishing hoping and praying to deities I don’t believe in, yes, and planning it as a little pipe dream and including it in letters I write to my Congress Members…but wow…Yes yes yes…a thousand times yes…we need it.
Ah, the joys of dentistry. What a racket. I remember my first root canal (so far only, but that won’t last forever). My dental plan is pretty similar, and I recall the huge-ass bill. Even worse, for the first year I worked here, we had some gal in charge of insurance billing who couldn’t figure out how to file claims, leading to some pretty heated exchanges between me, the dentist, and some folks at my workplace when the dentist insisted on me ponying up another $800. Don’t even get me started. Supposedly I’m “lucky” I guess. Of course I also happen to live in the “reddest” state in the US, hence all the advocacy for even the most tepid reform of the health “care” system would fall on deaf ears (hint: my senators are Inhofe and Coburn, for example). My congresscritters would just as soon God “insure” those of us not blessed with mansions and Swiss bank accounts.
My call center job requires a doctor’s note for an illness of longer than 3 days. Cause we’re all 10, and our parents have to say why we were not at our desks. I’m missing work today and missed it on Thursday and Friday for both of my grandfathers’ funerals. I have to bring in programs for both of them. Maybe I should take a picture of me standing next to the open casket?
I hate to tell you, but in many countries with universal healthcare, dental coverage is not included. We Canadians still have to pay for our own root canals unless we have employer coverage.
We have dental coverage, but it has a $150/year/person deductible ($450/year for our family of three every year) and then it tops up at $1000/person — so anything over a $1000/year, we pay out of pocket. More than one dental event a year, you’re paying for yourself, basically.
I needed two root canals and crowns in one year two years ago and I am STILL paying them off (via credit cards — I did not have the cash).
Oh — and my dentist doesn’t believe in Vicodin. “Take some Motrin,” he said. “You’ll be fine.”