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Actually, I was insured for a total of 13 years under coverage I selected (we'll only look at two 6-year stints), but I opted out during the open enrollment period (renewal) at my first industry job because I was going to transition to grad school, and 45 days after the loss of coverage I was admitted to the ER for v-tach with arrhythmia, was kept in the ICU for 5 days, and then placed in a regular room for 2 days, which was finally followed by some outpatient procedures. It was a massive fucking bill laid at my feet. Fuck the details of how I settled those debts. I insured myself again in grad school, and after 6 years (the last 2 years were free) I rejected a TA appointment which also disqualified my free coverage, I had to be admitted for an appendectomy 60 days later. I joined the employee health plan for the first six months at my current job, but upon the renewal I thought, "why the fuck am I doing this?" and opted out.
So, let's just round things and say I was uninsured 200 days out of a 4500-day period, and the only two times I had to visit a doctor during that 4500-day period are those two big ticket items during the relatively small windows. The most useless $20k I've spent is on health insurance because I can't seem to time the fucking transitions properly. I'm not paying a single fucking private healthcare insurance bill again. I still get upset thinking about it. My last girlfriend and I fought over me being uninsured during the last year prior my assertion to leave Florida.
The ACA (Obamacare) actually addressed one of my biggest complaints (preexisting conditions), but all the rest were untouched. The cost of treatment is opaque and artificially inflated, enrollment period restrictions, too many variations regarding out-of-pocket costs that make deciding between dozens or hundreds of provider's a fruitless endeavor, profit-driven, premiums still too expensive and even more expensive in some cases after the ACA, fucking networks, fucking motherfucking networks.
It'd be a riot if whatever is going on with me now somehow resulted in a sudden death because I mismanaged it. For small things I might visit a clinic, but otherwise I'm extremely adverse to seeking medical attention. I never had a chance to really enjoy the benefits of coverage and being treated in a hospital without panicking every conscious minute with how I'm supposed to pay for all this. It's to the point that if I ever go back, and they present treatment options, I'd only respond with a question, "Do I have to pay if you just let me die?"
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