Use what is free: healthcare edition

 As you might know, almost two months ago I got covid, which is partly why I haven't been recording the podcast. I still had a cough after all this time. 

Well, after that long, I was starting to get a little nervous. I've never had a symptom so long and it's a noticeable one. Coughing is not a good feeling physically, but also, I think it is more frowned upon to cough in public right now. So last week, I used teladoc for the first time. On my insurance it is free, which is definitely a price I can get behind. 

My PCP didn't want to see me since I had a cough and wanted a virtual visit. I thought that was a little pointless. What can you learn from a phone call? They said if I wanted to go in person, I would have to get a covid test which would take days and it just didn't seem ideal. I had Covid two months ago! Why do you want to test me for it now?  Besides, their service cost me like 100 bucks for a virtual visit and teladoc was free. 

So I did that instead.  To my surprise, I was able to schedule something for the same day. The meeting itself was quick as well and took 9 minutes, and I left with a prescription to my local pharmacy. 

When I went to pick it up, the total surprised me. All my medicine was less than two bucks. One of the items was literally 33 cents. So I took the pills and I'm feeling better. 

I think this might all read as an ad for teledoc, which is not really the intent and they aren’t paying me for this.  Instead though, I think the takeaway  is to learn what is provided to you. My work’s healthcare plan had a great feature I never used before. You probably have some benefits like this you are unaware of. So seek them out, find something free and take advantage of it. 

Also if you find your work is lacking in perks, maybe it is also a good opportunity to inspect what is valuable to you. Perhaps you may be able to find other work with both perks and better pay.  We are still in a very strong labor market right now, but that might not always be the case.