“This one is my ‘Insurance Job’.”
She is one of my coworkers, this on job #3. Yes, I have three jobs, one almost full time, one seasonal evenings & weekends, and the other seasonal and weekends. Hence the general lack of regular bloggery due to 10- and 12-hour work days, 6-7 days per week. I am one of the many over-worked and underemployed, or perhaps that’s underpaid, but certainly unable to make a living from one job, in any regards. I can’t really complain all that much, given how many people lack sufficient, if any, employment at all, and how many other people are in the same overworked shoes.
That was the first time I’d heard the pair of words as a specific phrase, but I knew what she meant instantly.
For those of us with multiple jobs, we have a specific job that we must at all costs keep, for it provides us with the terribly necessary medical insurance. Without such we could not afford to see our doctors for even mundane issues, nor afford many medications, nor, [insert your favorite misfortune-averting phrase] be able to pay for emergency or hospital care.
Without medical insurance (and horribly, sometiems even with medical insurance!) anyone in the US is a mere emergency-room visit away from bankruptcy.
I would love to write a long post citing all sorts of statistics about the numbers of uninsured, under-insured, the perils of trying to go without and self-medicating or second-guessing, and all sorts of issues.
But I can’t. I got about four hours of sleep last night. (I’ve not slept well because I’m out of analgesics; I’ve not been able to get to the pharmacy when they’re open because I’ve been AT WORK and AT OTHER WORK, and it’s not like I can just send a family member down to pick up a bottle of tablets, because even with insurance my assorted monthly meds cost $90 and that’s not pocket-change.) Then I taught classes for some 6 hours, and then cashiered for 4 hours, and oy my feet hurt. But I gotta get to sleep, because tomorrow morning is my only free time this week before I go to work again at noon.
Polysyllabic expletive!
But hey, even though I’m overworked, I have an “Insurance Job”. Thank goodness.
Andrea's Buzzing About: 
Pain-Blog Carnival, June 2009 | How To Cope With Pain Blog said,
12 April 2014 at 17:47
[…] Andrea’s Buzzing About writes about taking jobs just for the health insurance they provide. […]
egrace said,
2 July 2009 at 15:40
Yes, and I wish there were not the gaps there are. Americans are uninformed about the benefits of socialized medicine. They also don’t realize that Veterans are part of a socialized medical plan right here in our country. Even if I bought insurance, I am on disability so I am short of cash. Who wants to hire a social worker who can only really work 3 1/2 hours/day and 3 days/week? Sounds like I’ll have to look for private practice work and I never wanted to practice that way.
Our system is shot, not sick, dead.
Bug Girl said,
8 April 2009 at 17:32
I wish I could help–having too many jobs sucks :(
Ettina said,
8 April 2009 at 15:01
I’m so glad I’m a Canadian. If I get sick, the government pays for medical care (although there are holes in the system, like not paying for prescription medications, at least hospital care & examinations are free).
qw88nb88 said,
7 April 2009 at 0:43
Ah yes, that was the 30 Days show, “Minimum Wage”. It was very well done.
I heard on the radio the other week that the state of Kansas is working on finally increasing its minimum wage from $2.65 to $7.25. Holy cows! I remember working for $2.65 way back in 1979. Curious, I looked up states’ minimum wages, and aside from several states in the South that don’t even HAVE a minimum wage limit, Kansas is the only one that is set to less than $5. According to one news source, “only” 20,000 workers in the state were not in jobs that had to pay the higher federal rate. How could someone live on less than $6,000 a year?!
andrea
newautismcure said,
6 April 2009 at 19:17
I remember seeing that Morgan Spurlock show, living on the minimum wage for 30 days and having no medical insurance. I think he injured his wrist and had to spend a fortune on treatment, it was scary, so yes medical insurance is essential.
Maddy said,
5 April 2009 at 15:53
It took me about 18 months to ‘understand’ why Americans were always going on and on about ‘benefits’ packages as part of their pay. Now I get it. I also now have insight into the ‘creeping socialism’ from the American perspective, but something has to be done.
Best wishes
qw88nb88 said,
5 April 2009 at 14:14
Indeed! The NHS, like all things bureaucratic, has its problems, but at least it’s there.
There are people in the US who decry the idea of a nationalised health plan as “creeping socialism” and I have to wonder why the “S-word” is so dang scary to them. After all, we have free public education. Since the Great Depression we’ve had Social Security to help finance retirees income and pay for disability benefits. So why is education “okay” but medical coverage a big scary bugaboo?
andrea
uphilldowndale said,
5 April 2009 at 11:08
Our National Health Service in the UK, is a very very precious thing.