Flashes of Panic

One chore for this week was making an appointment to get the stitches removed. I called the office of the GP I used to see before I went to grad school.

It appears, however, that the ripple effect of our state’s universal-coverage law has reached his practice as it has many others. Because I hadn’t been in the office for three years (not quite true; I was there in July of ‘05) they considered me a “new patient.”

“And,” continued the appointments secretary, “our next available appointment for new patients is in January.”

That’s a long time to wait to have stitches removed. They suggested I go back to the emergency room to have them out, but the six-times-higher co-pay for ER visits made that a discouraging prospect. Fortunately, they decided to “take me back,” or I would’ve been calling all over the valley to find someone who could snip a few bits of thread in a hygienic manner for a reasonable price.

Now Playing: National Steel from Failer by Kathleen Edwards

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