Today was Day 34 of the 2017 Fall pollen season. I am no longer certain if the severe sinus pain I am feeling is a sinus infection or simply the result of 34 days in a row with pollen counts that are higher than my body can tolerate.
I spent some time on the phone today, on hold, in an attempt to get the vision insurance company to send me a vision insurance card. The photo above, of a hand that is holding an iPhone, felt like a good visual metaphor for being on hold. “Hold the phone.”
The pollen count today was 7.2, which is not good for me. It was very windy today, and it seems to me that this results in more allergens being blown through the air. I’ve had horrible sinus pain all day long, and nothing seems to take it away.
To make a long, annoying, story short – my vision insurance doesn’t send customers a vision insurance card that they can take to the eye doctor. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
The call center person I spoke with was trying her best to help me, and put me on hold three times to go find answers to my questions. Either she was brand new, or this insurance company doesn’t train it’s call center people very well.
Eventually, she transferred me to someone higher up than she was, who informed me that they don’t send out cards. The guy made it sound like I could print out a paper card from their website, but that turned out to be a lie. He sounded annoyed that he had to actually help a customer.
The dangerous Graham-Cassidy health insurance bill is still in Congress, but hasn’t gone up for a vote yet. Apparently, the GOP plans to hold a Senate vote on this bill on Monday. It’s unclear whether or not it really has a chance of passing.
I’ve seen information about this bill that says that people who, like me, have rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases will pay $26,580 more a year for health insurance coverage than they do now. I don’t make $26,580 a year.
I don’t think my husband and I together make that much in a year. If we do, it cannot possibly be much more than that. We would have to spend our entire combined income – and then some – to pay for my health insurance. This is unreasonable. I’m feeling a mixture of rage, anxiety, and hopelessness about this new version of “Trumpcare.”
On Hold is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites.
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