My daughter's eye turned a bit red and puffy today and, before reality set in, I thought to myself, "Hmmm, maybe we should go have that checked out..."
Until I realized we no longer have health insurance. What a stark contrast to our years of pampering with excellent health insurance coverage. In fact, I have had health insurance most of my adult life.
Now, without insurance, I feel like I'm precariously perched on a high-wire with my kids heavy on my shoulders while I tenuously tiptoe over the hazards of the little things, like pink-eye, and the bigger ones like a broken limb, or even worse.
But I know I'm not alone. In fact, if I held a meeting with all of the other local families without health insurance--- well only the local event center could contain us all. And that's a scary thought.
Here in Oregon, we have the option of the Oregon Health Plan, however. Though its resemblance to my previous insurance is something like comparing a ziploc bag to an oversized umbrella in terms of coverage, any insurance is better than nothing.
But I haven't registered the kids yet. Why? There are a few reasons for this, though none of them are adequate: laziness and my avoidance of bureaucracy, my reluctance of entering a "hand-out" demographic, feeling more comfortable in the helping role rather than the receiving role, and...well, laziness once again. I repeat, none of my reasons are adequate!
But today's little scare (thankfully, it wasn't pink eye) provided the kick in the behind to get over myself and take care of necessary business...
