For the majority of my life, I didn’t give healthcare a second thought. Up until the time I graduated college I was covered under my parent’s insurance plan. When I started working at PwC health insurance was included in my benefits package.
The money came straight out of my paycheck every month and to be honest, I didn’t check to see how much I was paying for it. All I knew was that I had coverage. And if I ever got sick I wouldn’t be stuck with a huge bill to pay.
Obviously, affordable healthcare has been a huge topic of debate in American politics for a while now. I never really got caught up in the discussion because I wasn’t adversely affected. I’ve always had medical insurance and it just wasn’t an issue I thought about much. But now I am understanding why it matters.
For the first time in my life, I am without medical insurance in the United States. If I were to come back to the United States I would have to purchase insurance on my own. I’ve done some research and I’ll admit, it’s a bit startling. I’m not going to go into the details but the average cost per month of healthcare in the United States is over five hundred dollars. And that doesn’t even include any deductibles!
To put it in perspective, I spent roughly half that for six months of coverage through a travel medical insurance company. And we’re talking internationally here. So basically any country that I plan on traveling to. I don’t have a deductible and I can go to a doctor or hospital outside of the provider network.
It’s funny though. Because based on the plan I have I can’t receive medical services in my country of residence. The United States is out. Which is fine. It’s travel insurance anyway. I get it.
But if you’re from somewhere else, let’s say Australia, and you travel to the United States you aren’t covered to the extent you are covered elsewhere in the world either! This must mean that health care in the United States is so unreasonably expensive when compared to other countries.
I’ve met various people while in Australia that flew home before the borders shut. They did this with the knowledge that home was the only place they were guaranteed quality medical coverage. They knew if they ever got sick they would be taken care of, no questions asked.
But I’m in the opposite boat. I know I have to stay abroad because I don’t have medical insurance back at home. And I know coverage will be unreasonably expensive if I do decide to return. Is it me or is there something wrong with this situation?