A Shot to the Head, then a Shot to the Arm

I might have mentioned that the Affordable Care Act mandated that I have health insurance, but my period of unemployment meant I couldn't afford any insurance, so I was placed on Medicaid.  Now it appears that my currently re-employed status means that I now earn too much money for Medicaid, so my coverage is being terminated.

I received the notice on Fri. 10/23/15, and my last day of coverage is Sat. 10/31/15.  That's about a week's notice.  Well, then you figure that most people don't work on weekends, so I'm left with five days to find new health coverage.  (Actually, I learned, while preparing my 2014 taxes, that I can get by without penalty for a month or two, so I do have more than a week to research my options, but what if I actually need medical care during that time?  Hence, I scramble madly.)  Miracle of miracles, when I called the state health exchange phone number, I spoke with a real person (!) and she put me through to another real person (!) who set up an appointment just two days from my call (!) to meet another real person (!) in person (!) to discuss my options.  I'm not sure I'll actually get enrolled with new coverage during this meeting, but at least I've gotten the ball rolling within the week they gave me.

I'd like to add that I'm a healthy, rational, and reasonable adult who thinks of more than just himself, so I chose not to utilize any services (not even a preventive care checkup) while on Medicaid because I didn't want to strain taxpayer funding for something I didn't need -- until this week.  What with my coverage ending and uncertainty about when I'll start a new plan, and with me living with my elderly mother who got her own flu shot already but what's the point of taking chances, and with my fear of getting sick with no backup plan (people still die from the flu, after all), I did rely on Medicaid to get me a flu shot for free at my local participating pharmacy.

If it makes you feel better, the standard price for the shot at this pharmacy was just $32, so I used less than a cent of your taxes.