Health Fund

## Episode navigation

**"Health Fund"** is the sixth episode of Season Three of *Superstore*, and the thirty-ninth episode of the show overall.

## Summary

*As Mateo turns to stranger and stranger home remedies for an ear infection, Amy and Jonah decide to offer an alternative to Cloud 9's terrible health insurance plan. Glenn enlists Dina to help him get medical attention for his own embarrassing condition.*

## Plot

In the Break Room, Mateo is groaning due to an ear infection. Cloud 9's health plan has a $4000 deductible so no employee can afford to go to a doctor. This starts the staff offering home remedies for various illnesses. Amy uses VapoRub, Isaac advocates breast milk, while Marcus calls root beer the perfect food. Dina mentions she had a cancerous mole removed which peaks Glenn's interest. In Glenn's Office, Glenn is on the phone with an automated attendant trying to get an appointment with a dermatologist as he has a mole on his "bathing suit area". Amy is making a collection jar for Mateo and asks Jonah's opinion on the best jar sign. He is disgusted that every time a staff member is sick, they have to scramble to collect money. Amy flippantly says they can't collect money before it's needed as planning isn't the staff's forté. This gives Jonah an idea for a health fund to which Amy sarcastically says that Jonah has solved health care.

At the Pharmacy, Mateo asks Tate for meds without doctor's authorization to which Tate indignantly refuses. He then beckons Mateo to a side counter where there is a blind spot from the store's cameras and asks him what he wants. Tate pulls out a pill stash, samples one himself, retrieves antibiotics for Mateo and arranges for payment. In the Break Room, Glenn sits with Dina and Sandra and asks how Dina figured out her mole was cancerous. Dina offers to take a look at Glenn's mole. Due to the mole's location, Glenn refuses to let Dina look. But when she mentions that the longer he waits, the more doctors will have to cut out (while she is slicing an apple with a knife), Glenn becomes visibly worried. In the store, Jonah proposes to a group of staff that they all contribute $20 monthly for a health fund. Marcus believes it is a pyramid scheme while Isaac smells socialism. Amy makes fun of the proposal but when Kelly offers to pitch money in, the rest of the staff follow.

In his office, Glenn looks up "mole penis" on the internet and is shocked by the image results. Garrett comes into the office for his review so Glenn slams the monitor down and tells him to come back later. Sandra is overjoyed to get an inhaler from the health fund and hugs Jonah. Jonah gloats over his accomplishment to Amy. At the Pharmacy, Glenn has Tate examine the mole on his penis but Tate also drops his pants and won't examine Glenn until he looks at his penis. Reluctantly, Glenn does look and is shocked by what he sees. A number of staff are discussing looking forward to receiving health care and praise Jonah's efforts. After Kelly remarks that Jonah is so smart, Amy mentions that she had a part in the idea. The staff patronizing thank her which she picks up on. Marcus pours root beer into Mateo's ear.

In the Surveillance Office, Glenn draws a picture of the mole on his penis for Dina but she says she needs to see the actual mole to make a diagnosis. Marcus approaches Amy to sign a thank you card for Jonah which results in her seeking out Jonah and mentioning that it was her idea which led to the fund. She denies wanting credit but Jonah announces her contribution on the P.A. system and then tells Amy that the fund is a disaster. In Glenn's office, Glenn is behind a sheet with a hole in it and asks Dina to pretend that it isn't him when he sticks his penis through the hole. Jonah shows Amy that health claims worth $37,000 have been made in the first 4 hours of the plan and they see that certain staff have many health problems. Glenn puts his penis through the hole but Dina can't see any mole since it is on the underside. She uses a pencil to lift it up.

Amy and Jonah meet with the staff who have made many health claims and diplomatically tell them that the fund isn't available to them and return their contributions. Sandra gets uncharacteristically upset, won't accept she's out of the plan and tells them to figure out a solution. Dina doesn't know if the mole is cancerous and suggests sending a photo to her doctor. As she's taking a picture, Garrett returns for his review. He's stunned by what he sees and rolls away mumbling. A man in a suit leaves his business card in the collection jar for Mateo. (♫ Air Supply – All Out of Love ♫) In the Break Room, Amy and Jonah meet with the staff and announce that they are not ejecting anyone from the fund but are dividing them into two groups based on projected health expenses with Group A paying less than Group B.

The announcement results in shouting from everyone and Marcus says Amy and Jonah are ripping everyone off. Staff question how the grouping was created and it is revealed that Marcus' leg is infected so he shouldn't be in Group A. Time passes and the plan has now turned into an extremely complicated multi-tiered plan which no one is happy with. Sandra is angry that live-in nursing isn't offered for her invalid boyfriend Jerry. Isaac thinks the plan should cover everything, exclude no one but be affordable. Marcus suggests that the fund be restricted to those that can pass "Ninja Warrior" type tests. Marcus pares this down to jumping on a table and Isaac takes him up on the challenge. Isaac completed the "feat" and while everyone is cheering, the table collapses, flinging Isaac into the glass of a vending machine.

Isaac is seen at the Pharmacy where Tate is using super glue to seal his cuts but Tate's surgical glove becomes glued to Isaac's face. Garrett gives Mateo the collection jar which he decides to use to buy an expensive bag instead of treating his ear infection. Doc is seen mini-putting. (♫ Bob Marley - Could You Be Loved ♫) In the Storm Shelter, Amy and Jonah are hiding from the staff and drinking beer. Kelly joins them which Amy doesn't appear to like. In Glenn's office, Dina and Glenn are waiting for a call from Dina's doctor. Glenn regrets never having a biological child and realizes if he has penis cancer he may never have one. The doctor calls with good news much to Glenn's relief. Glenn thanks Dina who reminds him that she has a picture of his penis. After she leaves Glenn says he's going to have a baby.

## Cast

### Main cast

America Ferreraas Amy DubanowskiBen Feldmanas Jonah SimmsMark McKinneyas Glenn SturgisLauren Ashas Dina FoxColton Dunnas Garrett McNeillNichole Bloomas Cheyenne Lee (credit only)Nico Santosas Mateo Liwanag
### Featured cast

Kelly Stablesas KellyKaliko Kauahias SandraJon Barinholtzas MarcusKelly Schumannas JustineJosh Lawsonas TateSteve Ageeas IsaacJon Miyaharaas BrettDanny Guraas EliasSelisha Shertickas SarahJudd Lawrenceas HenryMariana Toscaas HeatherChristopher Riordanas Chris

## Running Gags

* Amy's name tag: Amy wears a different name tag in every episode. For this one it's "Megan".
* **Crazy Customers and music**: For all customer interludes and music see Health Fund (music).
* Glenn's tie: Large cartoon clouds.

## References

* Glenn says that ear infections are best treated with garlic oil which has the side benefit of making one smell like the Pope.
* Amy's favorite cure-all is VapoRub.
* Tate mistakes a pill for a SweeTart candy. He tells Mateo to meet him behind the Just for Men display.
* As Jonah experiences initial success with the health fund, he gloats to Amy that he wonders if Obama felt as good as Jonah does when he passed Obama Care.
* Jonah tells Amy that the health fund claims came in as fast as the opening credits in Star Wars.
* Dina uses a broken Snoopy pencil to lift Glenn's penis up.
* Jonah explains that Garrett is in health fund Group B because he eats too many Cheez-Its.
* In the Break Room meeting where Amy and Jonah try to fix the health fund with the staff, two of the plan levels are Gryffindor from Harry Potter and Targaryen from Game of Thrones. Another level is named Wall of Fire, which is most likely a reference to the spell from the fantasy rpg Dungeons and Dragons.
* Marcus suggests that the health fund be restricted to those that can complete Ninja Warrior type challenges.
* Mateo decides to use the money from his collection jar to buy a faux Gucci bag.
* After Kelly joins Amy and Jonah in the Storm Shelter, she toasts them with "Yahtzee" as she drinks her beer.

## Trivia

* Cheyenne does not appear in the episode but Nichole Bloom is credited.
* Sandra's last name is revealed to be "Kaluiokalani".
* Sandra currently has a cavity, gout, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica, fibromyalgia, and leaky gut syndrome.
* Glenn's office, Glenn's monkey puppet, the Pharmacy, the Surveillance Office, Coffee & Bakery and the Storm Shelter make an appearance.
* This is the first episode we see Isaac back as an employee after he quit in season 2 episode 8 "Seasonal Help". Wheras he was a part-time worker then, the dark blue west he is wearing in this episode indicates that he is now a full-time one.
* Goof: When Jonah and Amy present Group A and Group B for the Health Fund on a whiteboard, Heather is in Group A for several minutes. At 17:00 there are several quick cuts between Amy/Jonah and the staff and her name has been erased from Group A and moved to the bottom of Group B.

## Video

Superstore - Who Gave You the Right to Play God? (Episode Highlight)Superstore - And Kelly Makes Three (Episode Highlight)