When you are a freelancer, especially one who flies to the workplace, you can’t call in sick. Heck, you can barely call in dead.
This past week I was in Dallas on a four-day show, and I began to feel a tickle in my throat on the first night. That’s not a good sign. By the second day, I was cold-sweating. On the third day, I found myself a bit distracted. On the fourth day, my cow-orkers were telling me how bad I looked.
Today I feel much better, but I’ve been taking antibiotics. If I had let it go, I think it would have become bronchitis. When you can’t call in sick, you have to get well quick.
I have a great doctor. My insurance isn’t the best, but it’s not awful either. I pay a $25 co-pay and sliding prescription rates, so for about $50, I can get better so I can work more effectively. An uninsured tech would be out $150 or more.
If there’s a moral to this post, it’s that as an independent contractor, you MUST have health insurance. It costs a bundle, but unfortunately in our present healthcare system, you can’t get simple antibiotics without a prescription, and it costs around $100 a pop for walk-in clinic visits.