Health Insurance Or A Car To Get To Work. Pick One.
No, you cannot have both. And put down that cell phone. Who do you think you are, thinking you can have a phone AND health insurance?
Our current administration, to the surprise of absolutely no one, seems to think that having basic healthcare coverage requires sacrifice.
I’d like to go on the record here with my opinion that this is fucking ridiculous.
Some members of Congress – yeah, Jason Chaffetz, that would be you – suggested that the peasants might have to make CHOICES like giving up a new iPhone in order to afford a health insurance premium.
Even coming from a position of privilege, which I fully admit to and am grateful for at all times…What. The. Fuck. When is the last time this dude paid for either one?
Since my husband will hit the Magic Medicare Age of 65 before I will, I checked into getting coverage where I work part-time. I am fortunate to work for a non-profit organization that A) offers health coverage despite having just 13 employees, and B) covers part-time employees on a pro-rated basis.
To cover just myself, the premium would be about $864/month. I would pay $432/month – my employer pays the other half, THANK YOU. But what if I had to pay the whole thing?
Giving up a new iPhone covers 75% of ONE MONTH of premiums. LESS THAN ONE MONTH YOU MORONS.
The average monthly car payment is $479 according to some sources. That would leave me with no transportation to get to work to pay for the health insurance. And the rent. And the utilities. And food.
But this is about SACRIFICE. For the PRIVILEGE of BASIC HEALTH COVERAGE. And those work-from-home deals are all over the place! I mean, really, no one should be unemployed! Kroger is always hiring and they are just down the road and you can ride a bike. So, no car!
$385 to go. I could give up my cell phone plan! Because – no iPhone, right? Having a cellphone is a luxury, and not a basic “given” in today’s world, right? The average monthly cost for that is $73, according to JD Powers. But I need some kind of phone – what if I need to call 911 because I fainted from the lack of food because I have no car to get to my job? It looks like a landline is $25/month. I’m ahead $48.
$337.
You know, people are always trotting out that tired latte-a-day metaphor. You know the one – “if people just gave up their Starbucks habit, we could <feed the world, save the planet, pay for that new road, whatever>.” $384 is…96 Starbucks double tall caramel macchiatos. That’s a lot of coffee…but OK. After all, I must make sacrifices if I want BASIC HEALTHCARE COVERAGE THAT EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE, and fancy coffee is totally frivolous and not something for the ordinary masses, so let’s pretend I go to Starbucks every single day, that’s $120.
$217 to go on the monthly premium. Hmm.
I could turn down the heat 3 degrees and save an estimated 3% on my energy bills. That I can’t pay because I have no car to get to work…but you’re tired of hearing about that. That gives me about $6 in savings each month.
$211.
Get rid of cable. It’s all crap anyway and it’s $95/month and another LUXURY that people who need health insurance, and are stupid enough to work somewhere where it isn’t offered, can’t afford and certainly do not deserve. I can probably sell the TV for a couple hundred bucks, but we won’t factor that in. Don’t tell anyone about that windfall though, OK?
My wine budget has been running a little high lately. Probably $116, right? That’s 19.333 bottles of the really good $6 stuff. That’s 120.81 four ounce glasses – or about 60 real-life glasses, which is 2 glasses of wine a day. Who needs it? <I need it says frantic little tiny voice in my head>
I CAN DO THIS. I can afford basic health care coverage if:
I can somehow keep my job without being able to actually drive to it
No cell phone
Uncaffeinated
No TV
Cold house
No alcohol
THAT WORKED OUT JUST FINE DIDN’T IT. COME SEE ME NOW bwahahahaha. I’M FINE.