Now there's a popular saying, "You must work very hard to make it look effortless," which might as well be describing me.
1
My siblings and I had already discussed early on that once we graduated and started earning money, we would set aside a portion of our income to save for our parents' retirement and medical care.
They had worked hard all their lives to provide for us and send us to university. Now nearing retirement, they didn't have employee medical insurance and could only receive the most basic level of protection. Now that we have grown up and are working hard away from home, we can't always be with them. Perhaps a reasonably priced, comprehensive commercial medical insurance policy is a good way for children to show filial piety to their parents.
Five years ago, when our parents were in their fifties, we took out a mid-to-high-end medical insurance policy for them, which is serviced by MSH. At first, our income was still low, and there wasn't much money left over each month, so we chose the cheapest entry-level plan and added the highest deductible to reduce the insurance cost to an affordable range for us. After two years, when our incomes had increased significantly, we gradually upgraded the plan without too much pressure.
2
Later, our mother was diagnosed with a serious breast nodule, which could be breast cancer, during a physical examination in her hometown.
Since our hometown is in a province surrounding Shanghai, and both of my siblings and I work in Shanghai after graduation, and our mother has mid-to-high-end medical insurance that is not limited to out-of-town treatment, we decided to bring our mother to Shanghai for treatment. On the one hand, the medical conditions in Shanghai are better, and on the other hand, if our mother needs to be hospitalized for treatment later, we are all around and can take turns to take care of her.
A few days later, we took her to the special needs department of Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai for further examination. In the end, our mother was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Almost without waiting, she successfully underwent surgery under the arrangement of MSH, performed by a famous expert, and preserved her breast.
If we hadn't bought insurance, we might still be weighing the cost of various medical expenses, pulling strings, and taking our mother through the treatment process.
3
After the surgery, according to the doctor's recommended treatment plan, our mother will have to undergo proton therapy and chemotherapy later.
At that time, the third in the world and the first and only medical institution in China equipped with "proton + heavy ion" treatment equipment is in Shanghai, with a cancer 5-year survival rate as high as 97.1%, but the cost is also very expensive. Our mother underwent 15 sessions of proton therapy, was hospitalized for 25 days, and the cost was close to 400,000 yuan.
During this time, the MSH customer service representative has been with us, completing the long treatment. She also thoughtfully told us that because we belong to "out-of-town serious illness hospital treatment," the insurance can also compensate for the high-speed train business class transportation costs for my parents to and from Shanghai. They have worked hard all their lives and have never sat in business class. Unexpectedly, they "enjoyed" high-end service for this reason.
After proton therapy, our mother returned to her hometown and continued the following chemotherapy in a local tumor hospital.
So far, the cost compensated by insurance has approached 600,000 yuan.
The tree wants to be still, but the wind does not stop; the child wants to raise, but the parents are not waiting. People often worry because they feel powerless, but filial piety cannot "wait" until they are "capable" to do it. Instead, start now, step out of your own fantasy world, and within your ability, let your body move first and do something real.
