Health is science, right? Well, close enough because I need a platform to talk about something that I love. The appearance of drug store health clinics. Back when I was a lowly temp with no benefits or health insurance, medical care was a constant concern for me. And when I say constant, I mean constant. I would avoid obvious activities like skiing but then that extended to even less dangerous activities. Any where that I had the slightest chance of getting injured. I wouldn't stay out late because I could get sick. Every sore throat or cough was possibly pneumonia. At the slightest hint of illness I would call out so that it didn't get worse. But calling out sick as a temp meant that I lost a day of pay. Health care is so out of whack in this country that even though I was working full-time, I wasn't given benefits and I couldn't afford them on my own. But I made too much to qualify for medical assistance. To those of you who don't want your hard earned money going to the lazy poors, realize that the majority of people without insurance are working and more companies are taking away benefits every day. It's your daughters and nieces and neighbors. Anyway, that's a whole other blog post. Point is it was exhausting and depressing and scary. I didn't know what I would do if I got ill. But one day I did.
It started as a sore throat but it wouldn't go away. Then I tasted the distinct taste of strep throat and I really got worried. I didn't want to let it go because the infection could get worse and then I really couldn't afford to take care of it. I tried to look up free clinics in the city, but since I hadn't registered with them previously I couldn't get an appointment for a month. I was considering spending the $150 to go to a regular doctor just for them to write me a prescription for antibiotics I already knew I needed but even that would take 2 weeks and by that time I would either be better or much worse. After searching for a another option online I came across the Minute Clinic, a health clinic inside CVS. You pay a cheap flat rate, there's no wait and they treat simple illnesses from pink eye to urinary tract infections to strep throat. There aren't too many of them but there are a couple in New Jersey within driving distant from New York. It was great. There was nobody there (probably because it was midday). The nurse who assisted me was so sweet. I think she could visibly see how stressed I was. She wrote me a prescription for a generic which I was able to pick up at the pharmacy in the store.
After that I never had to go back to the Minute Clinic. I'm relatively healthy and I generally don't go to the doctor for every little thing. That was my only crisis. Since then I've gotten health insurance but a recent illness got me thinking about the clinic again. I debated going to a family doctor. I had never picked one because my insurance doesn't require referrals. But I remembered how miserable going to the doctor is, especially in the city. The waits are ridiculous, they don't know my past history because I'm not originally from here and they don't care to know it because they have so many patients to see. So I thought, what's the point? I don't need them for referrals so do I need them at all? Like I said, I don't get sick, so when I do, it's either something minor like strep, which Minute Clinic can take care of in 5 minutes the day I need to go, or it's a broken foot and then I'm going to go right to a specialist. And since Minute Clinic takes insurance, the choice was pretty obvious.
Right now there aren't many. And even in the years since I first went they haven't expanded much. I hope they become more popular so everyone has access. Or I hope health care in this country gets fixed so it's no longer an issue. Either way, something's got to give.
2 comments:
This was awesome to read about. I am going to link to it on Facebook.
I don't have health insurance right now, and I simply won't ride my bike because of it. I even have a tattoo featuring a bike.
Nonsense! I wish there was one of these here.
BUT Minnesota has some awesome health programs and things, but that involves divulging a ton of information, hauling your birth certificate everywhere, and filling out a ton of paperwork.
I want a minute clinic.
It's also something Walgreen's and Walmart have been doing. Looks like there's a Walmart outside of Minneapolis that has one. Not that you could really get to it. It was seriously the best thing that's ever happened to me. But I've heard they've been shutting some of the minute clinics down because of lack of interest. The problem is they wouldn't function as well in the city because they'd be swamped and they aren't much of a necessity out in the suburbs where people presumably have jobs and insurance. But I love them and I hope they stick around.
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