> the stressor of battling the insurance companies This (and the related and similarly-inevitable-if-you-have-anything-worse-than-an-ingrown-nail battling hosp

> the stressor of battling the insurance companies This (and the related and similarly-inevitable-if-you-have-anything-worse-than-an-ingrown-nail battling hospitals and various other health care providers) is truly one of the worst parts of the US healthcare system, and one that doesn't get enough attention IMO. For any significant interaction with that system you can expect 3 different things that are or appear to be bills for 20 different services, from 10 distinct organizations each with their own payment cycles and billing policies. Then another couple of documents from your insurance for each of those. Even with the money in the bank and the best of intentions it's easy to end up in collections for one or more of them just because it gets lost in the shuffle. And you have to watch like a hawk to make sure the providers aren't over or double billing you, and that insurance is paying what it should. Chances are high that one or the other, or both of those, will happen. Then they'll try to send it to collections while you're disputing it, so you have to watch for them pulling crap like that. It's insane.