To those whose kids have graduated and are working

Marian
Mon, 16 May 2011 14:06:00 +0000

CountingDown: My family has used urgent care places, too, and I think they may be the optimal solution for the first few months on the job for my generally healthy daughter, whose health problems tend to be one-time things that do not call for ongoing care. But urgent care is not a good solution for my son, who has a chronic health problem for which he takes a medication that cannot be discontinued abruptly (and that he should not discontinue in any case because he needs it). He needs a primary care physician, and he will probably need a prescription for medication within a month of starting his new job.

cbreeze: Tell your daughter that my son delayed seeing a dentist for two years while attending graduate school. When he finally made an appointment, he discovered that he needed to have so much work done that he maxed out on his dental insurance and had to pay for about half of it out of pocket – and there isn’t much in a graduate student’s pocket.

One of the purposes of regular dental visits – besides better care – is that they help you spread out the expensive stuff, so that your dental insurance will pay for more of it. You do not want to have to have two expensive procedures (such as crowns or root canals) in one year; on most dental plans, you will end up paying a bundle for one of them.