Lessons From Another Health Encounter

At the tail end (an apt choice of words) of my annual exam the other day, my doc asked me if I wanted to have a vaccine for shingles. Then he handed me some information about this condition from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). I have a friend who suffered from shingles for over two years so this had my attention. My first question: "what does it cost?" The answer: "$300 and your insurance probably won't cover it." I gave him the green light anyway.

That decision puts me in the top 5% of my "class" (finally!); e.g. of the 45 million folks boomer age and older who should be vaccinated for shingles, only 2.3 million have done so. It seems besides the influenza vaccine most of us know about, there are other "adult immunizations" most of us do not hear about; tetanus, pneumonia, even cervical cancer! Perhaps this is largely because our health plans don't cover them. That seems like another of the many confounding financial decisions we allow our insurers to make for us. [Actually, if I were (way) older and covered by Medicare Part D, the shingles vaccine would be covered subject to a copay I found as low as $37 with one carrier.]

I also found that had I simply delayed my decision, I could have had the same injection at a Walgreen's Take Care Clinic for just $219.99. The moral of the story: listen well to your doctors advice but then if conditions allow a little time, shop for the best deal. Of all the people who should have known that, you'd think it would be me. My Health Savings Account will be minus $300 instead of $219. Darn! And, since my risk of getting shingles has now been halved, I'll be asking my insurer for a discount when the renewal premium arrives. Which brings me full circle on this post . . . . . .