My doctor is SO NICE. I went to see him today and explained my symptoms, and he said he's been seeing a lot of the pinkeye/cough/sore throat/congestion combination. "The bacteria that causes it can lead to pneumonia," he said (!). Good thing I dragged myself in to see him. He also told me conjunctivitis is one of the leading causes of blindness in developing countries -- isn't that sad? :( My lungs sound clear, but he wrote me a prescription for Azithromycin, an antibiotic. He said that should clear up the pinkeye, too, but also gave me a prescription for eyedrops just in case, and said to get that filled if my eyes aren't clear by Friday.
After all that, guess what he charged me? 20 bucks. Yes. That's IT. That was my co-pay when I had insurance, so he made no money on me even though he spent 40 minutes with me -- I love that man. If you need a general physician in Manhattan you should totally go to him! His name is Dr. Stephen Shaw, and his web site is http://www.midtowninternalmedicine.com/
It cost $48.69 to get the Azithromycin prescription filled. Not bad, considering that certain medications I've gotten have cost me $60 just for the co-pay.
More good news: the Senate passed the stimulus package today, and it looks like unemployment benefits will be extended -- not just for 13 weeks, but for THE REST OF 2009! O happy day! :-D Benefits may also get raised by $25 per week, though that'll depend on each individual state, I'm sure. I'm so relieved. The unemployment/tutoring combination is allowing me to survive financially until I can hopefully (*fingers crossed*) find a full-time teaching job this fall.
Here are a couple of articles about the stimulus package:
"A Comparison of Economic Stimulus Plans" by the Associated Press:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090210/ap_on_go_co/congress_stimulus_highlights
A nicely detailed article that compares and contrasts the House version of the plan vs. the Senate's version.
"Stimulus would boost, extend unemployment checks" by Deb Riechmann, The Associated Press
http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_11671192?source=rss
This one has specific details about unemployment.
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You've had some good things lately. :)
ReplyDeleteI know -- I'm lucky!! :)
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