Cancelled the optometrist appt - impossible to pay $30

 *Update: Emailed my doctor about it and he was surprised. Said "This is new" but he'd sort something else out next time I saw him.

I did try. My appt was for this afternoon and I did have the $30 in my account this morning but had to pay $10 for something else (long story) and that was it. I didn't have it again.

So I ring the optometrist back and cancel today's appt saying I can't come up with the $30. Said I guess when I see my doctor next month (he wants the quarterly blood tests that monitor HIV and kidney functions, amongst a lot of other things) I'll get a referral to somewhere else that does actually bulk bill.

I was surprised a couple of days ago too when figuring out just how much a year the rent is. $400 a week is around $20,000 a year, or $10,000 each. Not $8,000 as I was thinking :s Makes it even worse then.

So me and the lady at the optometrist got into a bit of a discussion about it all. She said they used to bulk bill everything but recently that changed. She agreed with me when I said it was the gov that did it.

My point though is that's all very well for a business trying to stay viable, but at the same time you can't get blood out of a stone!  I don't know how any sane business person would expect someone in my situation to pay anything. The medical centre where my HIV doctor see's me doesn't. They understand there. 

It's not rocket science. $17,000 or less received a year, $10,000 taken in rent.....  

Luckily in inner Sydney there's the opportunity here to go somewhere else that won't charge you. What about in smaller centres, or country towns where there's only one place available to go?

Anyway it's not an urgent thing. My vision hasn't got any worse, so I'm happy to talk about it with my doctor next time I see him and arrange something else.

Thanks fuckin Lieberals!