Date: 2005-02-24
To: Something Out Of Nothing.
Miles today: 0.0

Pretty Exciting material today...Insurance....Oh yeah, Fun....Right....I have been checking out health insurance options for the trail lately.I did a bit a research and seems like quite a bit of people hike the trail without medical insurance and that really concerns me. I mean, it concerns me in the sense that I hope those people without insurance don't get really screwed because hiking the trail without medical insurance is the same thing as playing Russian Roulette financially if you get sick, or injured. I am not a worrier and I am pretty easy going/go with flow, etc. but not carrying health coverage is just plain unwise.I used to play odds like that and I didn't take care of business properly in hopes that things wouldn't come back to bite me in the butt, and then I realized that freedom lies in taking care of the extra business and doing the necessary steps because then you have no worries. Simply, I will have no worries when I am on the trail, because even though I am going to have to pay $100/month to pay for my cobra insurance, I know that I will covered if something happens. I will be free of worry.I guess with the bad auto accident I was in this summer, where I combined my windshield with my face in a very hurried fashion, and then when my house burned down, I just learned that the benefit of being covered by the proper insurance far outweighs the cost of not being covered and getting severely shafted by fate. There is no such thing as, 'that won't happen to me' or, 'This and that have already happened, so there's no way anything else could fall on me...'. I also say this while my leg is propped up with a brace on it, and the crutches I need to walk at the moment sit next to my chair.Don't think that you can escape misfortune, plan on it happening, and then when it does, you are the master of your fate and future, and you will not be screwed. Success in almost anything relies on the proper planning for a large number of variables occurring that can negatively affect you. I am in no way a stickler for schedules, being on time, planned routes, etc. That is not what I am talking about when I mention proper planning etc. What I am about, is covering my butt in the case that something bad happens...So, Basically...I found that the best insurance option for me is to get on cobra and keep the same health insurance that I already have. It is only $30 more than getting a new policy, and it covers me a lot more than a new policy would. This way I am covered 100% after my deductible.On a positive note,I ended up saving way more than my goal for the trail, which is really good, because now I can pay off my Lasik Eye Surgery that I bought on credit, while I was waiting to get more money that was due to me. I new I would be able to cover it financially, I just didn't think I could cover it all before I left, so that is awesome, and what is even more awesome is that on my last post-op check up three weeks ago, my vision is officially better than 20-20, currently my left eye is at 20-15, and my right eye is at 20-20...Pretty Cool...Take It Easy Everyone...    P.S.-I just reread this and I am not condeming anyone without Insurance, I am pleaing that anyone without insurance gets it, because I care and I don't want anyone to get royally screwed.Take it easy...