Insurance

Today I picked up a $45 nasal inhaler at the pharmacy and paid $15. Then I went to the vision center and picked up 12 pairs of contact lenses*, whose total value including the consultation fee is just under $200, and paid nothing. I realize that insurance is one of the great evils of the twenty-first century because it artificially raises prices on products and services that would otherwise cost much less, but it can't be all that bad if it's saving me money, right? Because it's all about me. Right?

Of course, I did have to pay an exorbitant fee for the insurance premium, and the only reason I feel like I'm getting my money's worth out of that exorbitant fee is because of above-noted artificially-raised prices. So maybe insurance is evil, even if it is all about me. (Which it is.)

But at the moment I'm just happy to get a free year's supply of contacts and a nasal inhaler at 66% off.



*I've been trying a different brand of lenses that are coated with slimy moisture-retaining goo that keeps them from drying out, and they're much better than any lenses I've worn before. Sometimes it even feels like I'm wearing nothing at all. Nothing at all!