One thing that you tend to lose appreciation for when you're working full-time for a company is how much decent health insurance costs. Mine will be expiring soon, so I had to do some shopping around for an individual policy. The bottom line is that there's no point in paying for the kind of coverage you get with a full-time job because it's cost prohibitive. Instead, if your health allows it, you get what amounts to little more than "catastrophe insurance," so that it's never bad enough to bankrupt you if you're hit by a bus or something.

You basically have to figure out what out of pocket cost you're willing to risk and balance that against co-pays and deductibles, and maximum pocket cost. The bottom line is that you'll likely arrive around $10k max for around $130 a month, if you're male and have no history like me. That, and if I need to, I want to continue using the Cleveland Clinic.

The thinking here is that I've seen a doctor twice in the last 12 years, once for the sinus infection I had in March, and once as a general diagnostic a couple of years ago. I'm fairly low maintenance, getting the more serious fever sick scenario once a year, and then one or two common cold instances. Given my shitty eating habits, it's a miracle I'm not more prone to crap. So for now, this seems like the most reasonable route to take.

I did look into Diana's plan, as her employer offers domestic partner benefits, but it comes out to an extra $230 a month, which strikes me as being really steep.

It's staggering that our medical system in this country is so hopelessly broken.