Do you have the money to pay $29/week? If so, even if you'll be stretching a bit in the end, I'd say take it.

I stayed ONE night, less than 23 hours, in the hopistal a few months back. I had to have my gallbladder removed, and it was just unavoidable. If we didn't have medical coverage, we would've paid close to $30,000! And that doesn't include the anesthesiologist or the doctor. That's just my stay, some funky stuff I had to wear, and a couple of scans I had to have done. All we had to pay, in the end, was $250, along with $10 for my painkillers that we had filled at a drugstore, and two $40 specialist visits with my surgeon. Don't get me wrong, my parents would've paid the $30,000 if they had to, but $340 is SOOO much better!

I recommend doing everything you can to get the cheapest health coverage you can, and also doing something as quickly as you can about getting another job with benefits. However, feeding yourself and your cats comes first, so I can understand if you can't.

Do you think you'll keep your scheduled appointments? Were they all "necessary" or just "check-ups"? My dad switched to a new doctor, and he's having him go in for all of these scans and tests, just so they can start from a baseline, in case something comes up in the future. Is that what some of these are for, or are they all going to be done to find the reason for various problems you're having?

Good luck, Donna. Everything will work out in the end.