$5,400 an hour

I have to go to the eye doctor tomorrow because I've been using the same pair of contact lenses for WAY TOO LONG. Just some helpful advice: This is not good for your eyes.

While I was making the appointment, the woman I was talking to asked if I had my old prescription. I told her that my previous eye doctor was in southern california and I would not be able to bring it. She explained that I needed to get it if I could because it would have the fitting for my contacts, which shouldn't change, even if my prescription does. She went on to say that they could do the fitting here if I couldn't get the old prescription, but that it would cost $90. Needless to say, I got their fax number and had my old doctor fax it over.

Now, I've had contact fittings done before, and if memory serves, the doctor basically sits you in front of a machine and push a button. The machine does all of the work in about a minute and the doctor just kind of sits there and watches. So, I started thinking about this. $90 for 1 minute of work? That's $5,400 an hour! Holy $#!&!!! That's a little extravagant, don't you think?

And I don't want to get into a whole healthcare debate, but I think that is a really good illustration of what is wrong with our healthcare system. Some of the most basic routine things we need to have done literally cost a fortune! If you ever get the chance, look at how much you get charged for an Aspirin or Band-Aid at an emergency room. Of course, most people don't end up paying these outrageous amounts; these bills get sent to our insurance carriers. But, guess who gets to pay the premiums?

And, that's if you even have vision coverage (which I don't). So, the whole thing will be coming out of my pockets, which are pretty damn shallow. It's a good thing I got my student loan check today.