Stop and think for a second — why is it so expensive to be healthy? A Hot ‘n Spicy at McDonalds is $1, while a fresh salad at Whole Foods could easily cost $7. Not only is food more expensive, but so is the health insurance needed to cover the conditions that could possibly come from eating cheap fast food.
In the past year, I’ve had a few unexpected medical expenses. Among other procedures, I’ve had an MRI and had my wisdom teeth removed. Those two things alone cost more than $4,000 — and that’s with insurance.
I found out about the concept of a deductible during my first procedure. It is when your insurance will begin coverage once you reach a certain quota. Obviously, the better the insurance, the lower the deductible, but it’s the principle of the situation that agitates me.
The first thing that popped into my head was, “This is a scam.” I really couldn’t wrap my head around how much money was required to protect one’s health. It wasn’t like I was putting a down payment on a brand new car or splurging in Saks Fifth Avenue. It was mind-blowing that a person could give a company so much money every month for their whole life and still receive a medical bill, no matter how large or small that bill may be.
I feel the same way about car insurance, but the biggest difference is that it’s insurance over a vehicle, not a human being. There are literal price tags on staying alive — it is not something that should be normalized.
Then I thought about the people who aren’t fortunate — if that’s even the proper word to use — enough to have health insurance. Some may have to opt out of having a tooth extraction that could cause severe medical problems if not performed because of the price.
Even simple check-ups have a price tag, which allows me to understand why people can’t or won’t go to the doctor. As students of the University, don’t take for granted the Student Health Center. All full-time students are required to pay a Student Health Fee, which is included in the tuition and fees. It covers routine visits to the Medical Clinic, Women’s Clinic and Specialty Clinic, along with mental health and nutritional services.
Even with medical insurance, the Student Health Center could be the cheaper route. Although that’s an option, they don’t cover procedures, and the health insurance industry is still frustrating.
Many of us, like myself, are privileged with the ability to stay on our parents insurance plan. I can say that privilege has blinded me to how the insurance industry operates. I understand it’s a complex industry with several different factors — but looking at it from the outside, not knowing much about it, there’s no reason why trying to stay alive should be such a financial burden.
We can thank the Affordable Care Act for a much lower uninsured rate, and we can hope the Trump administration does not succeed in repealing and replacing it with some random policy. We need to pay close attention to what our government is doing and ask for more. We shouldn’t be okay with paying an arm and a leg to literally save our arms and our legs.
The constant fight over insurance policy in the government needs to be something we focus on and become more vocal about. Many times, we ignore the argument because of the details we don’t understand and the linguistic barriers of reading insurance legislation, but it’s our job to educate ourselves on how insurance works. Let’s work toward a future where we don’t have to sacrifice food on the table for a good health.
Clarke Perkins is a 21-year-old political science junior from New Orleans, Louisiana.