In recent years, I’ve developed cataracts in my eyes. I’m not that old, so I don’t know why it happened, but each eye has developed to the point where I can’t see out of it. I had surgery on my left eye back in 2012 to put in an artificial lens, and that one is great now. My right eye, however, is completely blind, and I need the same procedure done on that one.
My lifelong trade is graphic art and web design, so I kinda need my eyes. I have no depth perception, and I have problems pouring coffee into a cup without missing, or catching things some tosses me. I drive at night with one eye closed to block out the glare. All of this can be corrected with a surgery that takes about ten to fifteen minutes.
The problem, though, is my insurance. I have Florida Health Care through the Marketplace. They have good plans, but this isn’t one of them. It’s one of the shitty plans – I have it only so I don’t have to pay the penalty.
The eye procedure itself will cost over ten thousand dollars. That’s not counting the anesthesiologist or office visits. My total out-of-pocket cost for the year is about $7,500, so that’s the amount of cash I’ll need to come up with to have this done. If I didn’t have insurance at all, I’d probably be looking at 12-15k to fix my eye.
It’s frustrating that the eye procedure is widely available, and yet it’s out of my reach. I work. I have insurance. And yet, this thing that I need so badly is beyond my means. How is America the greatest nation on Earth when we allow things like this to go on every day. My issue isn’t even life-threatening, but I’m sure for some people it is.