The Health Gamble

Sooo... that time of year that all foreign-hire staff dread is approaching. Decision Time. Re-sign the contract time. Have a little panic over where your life is going time. Have a massive anxiety event over health-insurance time.

Wait...I think that last one is just me.

Here is the dilemma: I want out of here. For a number of reasons that I don't feel up to detailing right now, I want out. For the record, none of them relate directly to my job, and if I could pick the school up and transfer it to somewhere else, I would do so. Of course reality rained on that little parade, so I must come up with a different plan.

So, just go! Right? Easy.

Except that it isn't, really. Never mind the student loans I'm still paying off and the fact that it's practically impossible to find a teaching job in Canada; while those things scare me to death, they are reasonable risks that I am hesitant but ultimately willing to assume. The real problem is Health Insurance. Here in Colombia, while I am employed, I have excellent coverage. If I got to Canada, I have piss-poor access to Health Care (compared to here) and that's after a three-month waiting period.

I am not assuming the worst, but I'm not prepared to ignore what is a very real possibility either. Allow me to play out the possibilities as I see them. Maybe I am missing something.

1) I stay in Colombia, with my present employer. I have health insurance and the peace of mind that comes with it, and I will enjoy my work even though I don't really want to live here anymore. The work is good. The everything else is not, really. If I get sick again, I'm covered, and the only problem is that my family would have to go through the drama of coming down here to care for me again.

2) I give my notice in December and plan to go home to Canada in July. If I get sick between December and July I am treated here until my contract ends when my insurance presumably also ends, and I am fucked. Being sent home at this point doesn't do me any good because I have no insurance there either, and who knows if I would be in any condition to travel anyway.

3) I give my notice in December and go home to Canada in July. If I get sick before the three-month waiting period has passed, I am fucked. And unemployed.

4) I give my notice in December and try to find a job somewhere else in Colombia, on the condition that my health insurance policy is transferable. (Is that even possible??) The only thing is, there is no way to know if this will actually be an improvement.

I realize that I cannot make all my life decisions based on whether or not I will relapse. But it seems absurd to me to risk losing my access to health coverage at this particular point in time. (And please, please don't say it will be fine!!)

Obviously I don't have the money to pay for this kind of care out of my pocket, and while my parents have said they will help if it comes to that, I'm simply not willing to allow them to bankrupt themselves to pay for something that I could be getting basically for free if I make the right choice.

Help?