Some of you may recall that a few months ago, while Corran was away on business, I woke in the middle of the night with chest pains that wouldn't go away and since it was in the wee hours, I decided to play it safe and go to the only medical facility that was near me and open and listed on my insurance plan: a hospital emergency room.

Turned out the chest pains weren't a heart attack, probably just muscular, but the ER staff assured me I had done the right thing.

Medically, that is.

The final bill has now come in.

I paid $75 that day.

I wrote a cheque for $575 last month for the ER doctor.

Now the hospital would like the remaining balance of $869 and change.

And let me make this clear: this is WITH full insurance coverage at a preferred provider in the network. This is basically adding up to the yearly $1500 deductible, which Corran still hopes pertains to the year from when we came onto the plan, which would May to May, but I keep telling him I'm quite sure will be the calendar year (I read in a magazine about a woman who had a baby on December 31 but because she then stayed in hospital until Jan 1, had to pay two deductibles towards the care).

Now, should I find myself alone again and have chest pains, do you think I'll go to the hospital for help, knowing that it'll cost me so much money? We can pay this, but it's still a LOT of money. Does anyone really think that frugal me will do this again? Hell no.

So the next time, if it is a heart attack, the result will end up being more expensive because I won't go in until it's very obviously a heart attack, at which point damage will have been done.

This is the fundamental flaw of US health care: it punishes preventative care, even for the supposedly well-insured. Sensible decisions are punished, but waiting until the point of stupidity is rewarded.

Oh, it's not great for the economy either, because that's money that we sure as hell won't be spending on something else.