Eyeballs“He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything.” — Arabic Proverb

Aside from my annual checkup, I can’t remember the last time I got sick or went to the doctor. For the most part, I think my sturdy midwestern make-up keeps me in good health so the health “topic” has never really interested me except with how it relates to eating and weight control.

Jeanine, on the other hand, loves health and also likes reading about it. On Mondays, the LA Times runs a special Health section and she genuinely looks forward to it. In all these years, I don’t think I have ever looked at it. Jeanine would have made a better doctor if she could have stomached the gory aspects of the profession.

Anyway, the point of the long, drawn out introduction is that I rarely think about my health and I definitely never think about it in terms of money. But the thought crossed my mind yesterday. I went in for my annual eye exam and he found a scratch on my cornea. He called a specialist at UCI Medical Center and sent me over to see him. All in all, it was a big scare for nothing. Yes, it is a scratch but it will heal with the help of an antibiotic and wearing my glasses over the weekend (although that’s horror all its own: my glasses).

This ordeal was a real time sucker yesterday and wiped out my afternoon at work. Also, in a couple of blinks, the four-hour health chase set me back $115: $20 co-pay, a second $20 co-pay, $35 prescription, and $40 for new contacts. It would have cost three times this amount without insurance.

Which brings me back to the topic of the cost of health care. It’s something that many people have to consider day-to-day as well as think about it in terms of retirement planning. Nothing was really wrong with me and even then, I blew through a hundred bucks. I can’t imagine what it costs when someone is really sick or god forbid doesn’t have health insurance.

Liz Pulliam Weston wrote A Survival Guide for the Uninsured. She explains, “The more than 45 million Americans without coverage will get sick more, earn less and die earlier than those with insurance. Here is where to find help if you’re caught without it.”

MSN Money offers a long-term view on health and finances. “As long as you’re budgeting for retirement, earmark about $200,000 to cover your out-of-pocket medical costs. That’s how much a typical retired couple will spend on prescriptions, deductibles and Medicare premiums, according to an estimate released in early March by Fidelity Investments.”

“That amount, considered the largest single expense for most people in retirement, increased 5.3% from $190,000 last year, according to Fidelity. Increases have averaged about 5.8% yearly since Fidelity began estimating costs in 2002. The amount does not include expenses such as over-the-counter medications, most dental services and long-term care.”

This makes me realize that sooner or later, I need to take an interest in the health topic. But for now, Jeanine’s still in charge! I’m busy healing my eyeball.