$152 for a Shot!

No, I'm not talking about a shot of alcohol! I'm referring to a vaccination shot. Before I left for NY, I received my first HPV shot from Kaiser Permanente, which covered the vaccination. The shots are administered in three doses, with the second shot given two months after the first one, and the third shot six months after the first one. Since I no longer have insurance through Kaiser (I purchased insurance through the school) and am living in NY, I needed my second dose, which I received through NYU's health center. You can imagine how wide my eyes became (considering they're small to begin with) when I received the credit card receipt to sign. $152?!!! Nobody ever told me it was going to cost me a month's worth of food! The lady at the counter replied, "You didn't know it costs that much? The school's insurance doesn't cover it." Apparently not!

Wow, our healthcare system is jacked up. Vaccinations are provided as preventative measures against illnesses that may cause irreparable harm, yet they cost an appalling amount that could cause financial strain on many people (namely, me). For those who aren't able to afford such costly vaccines, they risk contracting a disease that will ultimately cost more to treat than it would to prevent. Shouldn't the government do something to subsidize these costs? Like stop spending money on wars and start taking care of sh*t at home.

So I had no choice but to pay the $152. I'll have to come back in January and begrudgingly pay again. But in the big scheme of things, $304 is a small amount compared to what it would cost me if I contracted one of the common strains of HPV that causes cervical cancer or genital warts. But then again I could acquire an uncommon strain of HPV and the whole vaccination ordeal was for nothing.

I can't wait to start my internship tomorrow so I can start paying off my bills. Does anybody want to be my sugar daddy?