In my work, I sometimes prescribe weight loss medications.
They are not currently covered under many local insurance policies. Although the hospital insurance plan was covering them for a short time, coverage will end very soon. However, for the cash-paying patient, they can now cost “only” $500 per month.
I don’t particularly want to talk about whether or not injectable medication for weight loss is a good or a bad thing, or about the cost of medications in the US, or whether or not healthcare coverage for obesity management meets your favor.
What I do want to talk about (briefly) is the wiggle room in some budgets.
I totally get that many people I see do not have an extra $500 per month in their budget, nor would I expect them to. I am quite sure that the secretaries, nursing assistants, and various other people who make our offices and hospitals run would love to see even an extra $200 per month in their paycheck.
On the other hand, physicians make a lot more. Much more.
Even academic doctors, whose salary (according to one site I visited) is 40-50% less than the average non-academic physician, are paid a little over $200,000 per year. At this salary range, paying $500 per month for something you value seems like it might be possible.
And yet.
Last week I saw two doctors who very much wanted to be on these medications.
One, who I presume to have a much higher than average salary given their specialty, could not afford to pay out of pocket. Their money was already fully accounted for.
The other physician, in a much lower paying specialty, can absolutely find the cash in their budget to cover a medication that they find so important to their health.
Again, I do not mean to point any fingers. The higher paid physician mentioned multiple children as a big factor in not having more available income. I can’t really fault them for taking care of their children.
What I will say, though, is that spending all your available income can leave you in a pickle when unexpected expenses crop up.
Also, it is totally possible to save money on a lower salary OR to spend everything you earn on a higher one.
It’s not really the amount of money you earn that makes the difference in building wealth, but the decision to save.
