Staph Infection.... no health insurance... damnit

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 12/13/2005 9:36am

Originally Posted by dakotajudo

Doesn't a grad student still qualify for student health insurance - did when I was a grad student at SDSU (and UCLA, I think, covered most of a shoulder surgery).

FIU (the school I went) had a sort of health insurance, but it wasn't really an affordable solution. I almost never had a need to go to a doctor, so it was cheaper for me to tell them I was a broke student, and they'd use to cut me some slack. Some schools are better than others when it comes to grad students health benefits...

Originally Posted by dakotajudo

Well, you can get accidental insurance - there's a group that sells to the local MMA crowd, bout $20 covers all accidents. Don't know how good it is, though - I've not had a chance to make a claim.

Also, some national organizations offer accidental coverage - all the U.S. judo orgs have insurance against accidents during training or competition (the reason you have to join JI, JA or JF to compete in sponsored tournaments in the U.S.).

Again, not something I've needed to test yet.

Yeah, I think that's what I'm going to get myself. For those in South Florida, Blue Cross/Blue Shield has a "Hospital & Surgical" plan for $40-something a month (https://shopblue.bcbsfl.org/IHOS_planinfo.asp). And I've found several accident insurance plans which claim they can cover, say $400 for broken finger to $4000 for broken hip.

It would be nice if BJJ organizations offered accidental coverage just like the judo orgs do... any BJJ folk that may know if that exists??? A quick google didn't show up anything in the US...

Dancer, there are accidental coverage plans in OK for as low as $20...
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...dent+insurance
you should take a look at those as soon as you get rid of the staph... good luck.

**Wounded Ronin** · Posted On: 12/13/2005 4:59pm

Originally Posted by Dancer

Asked a few pharmacists today if there was anything available over the counter to handle this god damn infection..... no.

God fucking damnit.

I have no health insurance of any kind as a recent grad wth a lame ass job. There's a free health clinic, they're open tomorrow.... bu then the "free" in "free health clinic" may be a complete missnomar.... I think they want my money- GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!

I'm going to walk in, this will take them 5 fucking minutes- I have the exact same symptoms that 3 of my training partners, current students who can use the schools cheap as hell clinic, have and had diagnosed as staph-, and they're going to ask me for hundereds of fucking dollars, I just fucking know it.

I'm just going to go punch a wall for a while with my broken hand.

GOD DAMNIT!

Your emotions are totally undermining your basic ability to investigate the problem in a rational manner.

Medications for a staph infection will *not* cost "hundereds of fucking dollars". The price is likely to be under a hundred dollar. A staph infection, while nasty if left untreated, is pretty simple to treat using modern medicine.

**Stick** · Posted On: 12/14/2005 9:46pm

Went to the clinic, the visit cost me $92, the meds $50, and any subsequent visits will cost less.

So all in all not bad.

And maybe I'll finally get rid of these damn staph belmishes and be able to take my shirt off again in public without looking like someone who got the horrible acne from steroids without the crazy muscle growth. Cause seriously, these damn sores make me all self conscious.