Except for my swollen eye a few months back, I haven’t seen a doctor of any stripe in over two years. While in Kuwait, I was fairly nervous about seeing anyone and I was never sick for more than 24 hours anyway. Since then – I have not had insurance. And like most people without insurance, you hold your breath a lot and don’t go skiing. So now that I am employed, it is time to go off and get examined.

Yesterday was my first visit to an eye doctor in at least four years. I have aged and my eyes have aged with me. Plus I have been having issues with them that may just stem from being in the desert (or the poison ivy). The last time I went I just saw an optometrist in a Lens Crafters type place. This time I took my insurance and went to see a doctor. I don’t have a specific eye doctor to see so I picked a name off the insurance website. From the looks of the list, maybe twenty eye doctors inhabit each tiny office. The new consortiums. I chose a doctor near home. My first choice wasn’t available until July so they found me a doctor who seemed readily available compared to the rest (which is enough to make you wonder). The building I went to – chauffeured by Kerry since I would be unable to drive when I left – had maybe six floors filled almost exclusively with eye doctors and had a tiny parking garage attached. The elevator opened on the floor below and I saw a typical, sedate waiting room.

Then we got to my doctor…

The elevator opened into bright lights and much bustling. It was small and cramped but four nurses and a receptionist danced around the desk and patients with aplomb. I had barely signed in when one of the nurses asked my name and quickly directed me around to a room while Kerry filled out the forms. I went through the preliminaries and the drops and was sent back to wait for the doctor. As I waited, I realized there was just this one doctor for all the patients here at the moment. I also realized I was probably the youngest person in the room. Most of the patients were quite elderly. One man was there with a friend and was moved from room to room because he was too cold. Another woman was brought to the office by a shuttle and didn’t know who or how she was supposed to get back (or really where she lived). I was there for nearly two hours – mostly waiting – but well served when I was being tested. I can only imagine how difficult it is to service this clientele, though the staff seemed used to it.

So our current healthcare system – IF you have insurance – isn’t quite broke, but it does have many of the aspects already that people feared with “Obamacare”. Service is rationed, there are lines and you can choose your doctor but only if you are willing to wait for him/her. If not – you take what you’re given. And even this service gets more expensive every year. The insurance companies manage your care. Trust them or trust the government? Trust profit or non-profit? Don’t know – but I do have my new prescription for progressive lenses. As I said – I have aged. Next up: the Dentist.

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