The Annual Numbers Game....

I always leave our taxes 'til the last possible moment. It's part disorganization, part procrastination, and part knowing that it's not likely to be good news anyway.  But putting it off was a bit Russian roulette-ish this year: Our tax preparer's significant other is very high on the kidney transplant list.  As much as they want that kidney they must be praying for a two-week delay so they can get through tax season before the medical bills begin to really hit!

And with prayers for them in my heart, here are our numbers for 2018:

Our biggest expenses were the most hidden ones.  My insurance premiums are taken out of my paycheck biweekly, pre tax. The annual totals are pretty startling.

Medical insurance: $6015
Dental insurance: $1072
Vision insurance: $281

Total insurance costs: $9968, $830/month, $383 right out of every single paycheck before I see it. We usually don't include these costs when calculating our out-of-pocket expenses.

Medical expenses:

Doctor/Hospitals: $7215
     (2016, $7302)
     (2017, $5893)

Medication copayments: $3438
     (2016, $3416)
     (2017, $3509)

Parking and Tolls: $133
     (2016, $157)
     (2017, $112)

Medical Mileage: 3487, $872 allowable expense.
     (2016, 3040)
     (2017, 2111)

Grand total out-of-pocket: $11,503.  That's $958/month ON TOP OF the $830/month I'm spending to, theoretically, PREVENT these expenses. And keep in mind that not ONE of us was hospitalized in 2018. Eighteen hundred dollars a month. Twenty grand a year. And we did not spend enough to qualify for the medical deductible.

Babygirl collects disability at this point.  $787 far exceeds her monthly stipend. And while I realize that our totals are for the three of us, the doctor/hospital section is mostly her.  The medication section is 75% her dad and I.  The mileage, parking and tolls are ALL her. Most of her income goes toward meeting her medical obligations. This does make things easier for us, of course, but it's a very discouraging reality for her.

We had exactly one month this year with no medical travel for anyone. No PT, doctor visits, eye exams or dental recalls. Ahhh, November.

I have to wonder. What percentage of all of this is spent on our actual health, and how much on insurance company profits? How much goes to pay the pharmaceutical sales reps, the billing specialists, the corporate CEOs? What percentage of all of this is being spent lobbying my government representatives to block universal health care?

DeeDee