bountiful

I've had a really crummy attitude about health care lately. Not because of the health care legislation--I'm ashamed to admit that I don't know too much about it. No, my attitude has stemmed from my ER visit in January. The visit itself was fine (aside from the nurse who couldn't get the IV in and had to try repeatedly ... that part wasn't pleasant!), or at least as fine as an ER visit can be. I really didn't want to go in the first place because I knew it would cost me a lot of money ... I just didn't have any idea how much!

Three weeks after my visit, I got notification from my insurance company that they weren't covering any of the bill--which totaled nearly $4000! My first reaction was anger--what good was my insurance if it wasn't going to help me out? My next reaction was panic--how would I pay for everything? My medical issue didn't end with the ER visit--I still had to see my doctor a couple times and undergo more tests. The bills kept coming--a $90 doctor visit here, a $400 hospital bill there. Most bills were partially covered by insurance, but at the beginning of March, it looked like I'd still have to pay between $5500 and $6000. I know that many people are struggling to pay bills so much higher than mine, but to me, these bills looked nearly insurmountable.

Early in January, before I knew what was wrong with me and that it was, at least for now, manageable by diet and exercise, I came across these verses in my daily Bible reading:

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:25-34

When the bills began rolling in, I clung to those verses, as well as this one:  And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 Sometimes, I didn't do a very good job of trusting, but it seemed like every time I reached full freak-out mode, one of those verses would pop back into my head.

Through it all, God took care of me--sometimes in large ways, and other times in small ways. One person God used to bless me was Gary. I've mentioned him in the past--he runs Gary's Body Shop here in town. My driver's window broke in January (the pic to the left is me driving home from Grand Island right after it broke. Blendy gave me her hood to wear with my coat because I was so cold!), and when my dad took my car in to Gary's, Gary said he thought the broken part was still under warranty from when he fixed it last summer. It was, and on top of that, he refused payment for labor, saying that when you go to Gary's, you expect to have the job done right!

Then there was the speech judging job where I got paid double for one round because it was longer than a normal round, plus they gave me mileage even though I carpooled with another judge!

And then there's Tom. He's the business manager where I work. About two weeks ago, he got on the phone with the insurance company (I get my health insurance through my employer). I was so grateful that he offered to call because I wouldn't have had a clue what to say! He put the lady on speaker phone, and pretty much everything either of them said was Greek to me! I learned that I definitely didn't follow procedure when I went to the ER without calling the insurance company first, though I didn't realize at the time that I was supposed to do that. (Perhaps I should have read the massive booklet I got when I first signed up for the insurance five years ago?) The good news is that had I called, they would have sent me to the hospital I went to, and they agreed to review the charges. Anyway, long story short, today I learned that insurance would cover over half of the ER charges!

I still have a large bill to pay. I'll have to be careful about my spending. I won't be using my tax refund to buy a Wii like I'd been planning for the last six months. But I also won't be in financial trouble. I don't deserve this. I don't know why God has chosen to work out my finances. But I am grateful!

I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:6