Immunizations

Immunizations are a fact of life when you have children. I hate taking Baby to the pediatrician for shots because she cries when she gets them. Any parent can tell you that children have basically two forms of crying…the cry when they are hungry or unhappy and the cry when they are in pain. There’s a big difference between the two and I don’t like to hear either of them but the latter is the worst. Such will be the case later today when we take Baby for her one year immunizations.

I don’t doubt the effectiveness of immunizations and the effect they have had in the free world, but the cost of them and the administration fee charged by the pediatrician can be quite a surprise. Sure, I have insurance but my stupid plan has a $500 maximum per benefit period for “well baby care” which immunizations fall under (don’t get me started on insurance). I’ve done some checking and it seems our pediatrician is charging the average fees. For example (not exact), one immunization may be $20 with a $40 fee for the nurse to administer the injection. Depending on where we are in the immunization schedule, Baby could be getting four different immunizations in three injections. So, $80 for the immunizations and $120 for administering the immunizations, I’ve just spent $200 since Baby has reached her maximum for the year. Of course the price for the immunization itself varies higher or lower depending on what she is receiving but there’s no way around not paying an arm and a leg. ;-)

And the folks who can’t afford to pay for immunizations get to go to county clinics and pay a deeply discounted price ($20) or whatever they can afford to pay for all their immunizations. I’m not eligible to participate because I make too much money. Ha ha! Side note : I love seeing people in grocery stores paying for their stuff with food stamps and then getting into their Cadillac Escalade out in the parking lot (don’t get me started on that, either).

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the benefits of immunizations and the issues before we had them and the importance of ensuring that children receive them. I would never think not to immunize Baby. I guess my real gripe is about health insurance but that won’t stop Baby from crying later this afternoon. :-(