Quarantine Passed + Can I Rant About Health Care?

So I completed 14 days of room-quarantine a few days ago, and I’m loving the freedom to get my own water! And that I’m not sick, of course. I’m not taking that for granted.

The second half of quarantine went by quickly and peacefully except when I found myself craving for certain cuisines and instant noodles/ramen.

This year, I found myself missing Singapore more than before. It definitely has to do with the situation. If something happened to my family there and I need to make a trip back, it wouldn’t be easy or cheap to find a flight since Singapore has banned all short term visitors. That definitely added to the sense of distance.

So the craving is more a product of not being in Singapore than being in quarantine… Why didn’t I pack instant noodles? Oh right, because I wanted to keep contamination possibilities to a minimum, and my diet healthy. It wouldn’t have mattered on both ends, but the mind doesn’t work so well when it’s worried.

Social distancing is our best bet at the moment

I’m hearing talks about relaxing social distancing measures and reopening businesses in the US. Is that the product of worried minds? It seems such a risky suggestion when the peaks haven’t even happened in most of the country yet. I know people are worried about their livelihoods and the economy, but this is a matter of life and death. Are we ready to emerge from our homes? I don’t think we are.

In any case, over the past week, I crocheted a pair of slippers, wrote two posts, one of which may never see the light of day because of its nature. I got sick of a Mahjong game and got addicted to Scrabble Go. I did stretching, listened to songs, applied for jobs, cleaned the bathroom… And just like that quarantine was over.

It felt a little weird emerging from the room after quarantine. It reminded me of the times I was home over school holidays and when I got out again, there was always a sense of space but also of unease. Fortunately, the feeling dispersed quickly. It was lovely to see everyone and to do my laundry. Haha!

That night, Anth and I watched Invisible Man. We waited for three months so we could watch it together! That’s commitment right there! :p It was pretty good, so I shall not spoil it in case you haven’t watch it.

Unemployment woes

Now that I’m back to my old routine, I have no excuse to neglect my blog again. At the same time, I’m also thinking about the kind of work I can do. I don’t seem to be qualified for many jobs anymore, even retail jobs are challenging because people make me nervous.

To complicate things, like so many people out there, I literally can’t afford to fall sick. I’ve never been in a situation like this, where I have to decide between getting a public-facing job that increases my risk of getting sick and going into debt; or staying home with no income to avoid getting sick.

Am I overreacting?

Here comes the rant

I don’t think so. An uninsured lady’s COVID-19 treatment cost her $34,927.43. She wasn’t even hospitalized. I hope she finds a way to lower her bills.

To be honest, I’d rather die than have that happen to me. Melodramatic, I know, but I don’t have $35,000. The last thing I want is to leave Anth in debt.

I knew about the “fantastic” prices of American health care before I came back. I thought it’ll be fine if I found a job, but having a job doesn’t mean having insurance, or good insurance.

“A new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that the average cost of COVID-19 treatment for someone with employer insurance—and without complications—would be about $9,763. Someone whose treatment has complications may see bills about double that: $20,292.”Time article by Abigail Abrams.

I get so mad when I think about the millions of Americans and immigrants who are subjected to this insane health system, especially considering the fact that people in public-facing roles are usually at the highest risk and not well paid. This is not right.

To make things worse, millions have lost their jobs due to this virus, at a time when they need health insurance the most.

The injustice of it hurts my heart. Maybe they can file for aid, or they can get other health insurance plans, but that’s beside the point.

The point is, health care should never have gotten this unaffordable or complicated in the first place. After all, health care is not something that we can just go without. Health care is essential. It should be accessible and not hinged upon whether you can afford good health insurance or not.

Do you agree? Or am I being ignorant?

All rants aside, I know I’m one of the lucky ones. I can take Anth’s advice to stay at home for the time being and not worry about becoming homeless next month. My families are safely sheltered in good environments with enough to eat. It’s both a blessing and a privilege.

But some people aren’t as lucky. They don’t have a choice about going to work even when the risks are high.

I hope the health care system in America can change for the better and become more accessible. I won’t pretend it’s so that I don’t have to worry about falling sick, but it’ll also be way better for many people living in this beautiful country.

There’s so much I don’t know about the systems in the US, so please pardon me if I got the picture wrong. Also, I hope I haven’t come across as offensive. I just feel for the people.

How has your week been? This is my last pandemic-related post for a while. I hope everything is going fine for you. Wherever you are, I hope you’re safe and healthy!

To find out how week 1 of quarantine went, click here!