The $400 Steak: Why You Need Individual Health Insurance

I have a wealthy cousin who would probably order a $400 steak just to say he’d done it. I, however, would never in a hundred years purchase a piece of meat that would cost me so much – a piece of meat that, by the end of the day, I would never see again.

Or would I? Certainly not intentionally. Well, let’s just say I did eat a $400 steak. I bought it, too. Two weeks ago, I took a piece of meat from my freezer and thawed it. I cooked it for dinner and ate it. It was delicious. The next day, I found myself to be very, very, very sick. When my wife looked at the steak package, she saw that the meat had indeed expired. I was in trouble.

My wife offered all day to take me to the doctor, but I kept saying “I’ll ride it out.” Why? Because I’m in between jobs and I currently don’t have health insurance. I knew it would cost at least $150, even at a walk-in clinic.

However, by the late afternoon, I couldn’t take any more. There was nothing left in me, and I was dizzy and dehydrated. I crawled into my car and let my wife take me to the nearest walk-in.

Sitting in the waiting room, I felt awful, but I was comforted by a large sign that hung over the sign-in area. Visits Free, it said, and Lab Work $70. Well, I definitely wouldn’t need anything except lab work, which I assumed meant a urine test or a little blood work. So basically $70 for that? Not bad, I thought.

I was wrong. The doctor insisted on giving me an anti-nausea shot as well as an antibiotic shot, plus a urine test, before writing a prescription for me. By the end of my visit, I was grateful for their help, but appalled at my final bill: $250. My antibiotics and anti-nausea pills were another $150.

I asked both the doctor and the pharmacy how much the visit and the medicine would have been with health insurance coverage. The visit: $30, the medicine, $15. I’ve since gotten health coverage.

My advice: never risk it. It just takes one accident or illness while you’re uninsured to cost you hundreds of dollars. My $400 steak was not worth it.

Altman Insurance is an independent insurance agency in the Olympia, Washington area. To learn more about Olympia, Tacoma, Lacey, and Seattle health insurance, contact them today.