u/Smooth_Counter_9439

I was doing my mid year spending review and realized I can tell you exactly what I spent on restaurants, flights, subscriptions and even fucking parking but healthcare was basically one mystery bucket I never looked at. Last year it was $3,840 out of pocket. Nothing catastrophic either. Dentist and the contacts, a couple copays, prescriptions, PT and random lab bills that showed up weeks later.

The dumbest one was bloodwork. I had a few markers I wanted to repeat after my physical and somehow turned it into an office visit + lab bill that came to almost $400. So this year I started treating routine health stuff like car maintenance. $250/month goes into a separate sinking fund before I spend anything fun. I’ve also stopped automatically running every small thing through insurance. Needed repeat cholesterol/A1C labs recently and just ordered the specific ones through goodlabs and paid cash. Way easier to know the number upfront and leave the insurance for things where it actually matters.

This has made me wonder if I’ve been budgeting backwards for years. For people here with high deductibles, how much do you actually budget per year for boring predictable healthcare that isn’t premiums or a real emergency?

It started with a routine request. Fatigue that wasn't getting better, doctor wanted to run a comprehensive metabolic panel plus thyroid markers. Standard stuff. Insurance came back with not medically necessary.

Doctor resubmitted with documentation. Denied again. I filed a formal appeal. Six weeks later I got a letter saying the appeal was under review. Meanwhile I still don't have results. I still don't know why I feel the way I feel. And I'm still paying 290$ a month for coverage that apparently doesn't cover the thing my own doctor ordered.

I'm not angry at my doctor. I'm not even angry at the insurance rep who kept putting me on hold. I'm angry at a system that makes something this basic this hard for no reason that benefits anyone except the people processing the paperwork