The physical side of the medical paperwork proved a bigger challenge; I had no insurance, made around $150 a week, and didn't know anything about doctors.
The medical packet included information on VA hospitals. Veteran's Association Hospitals and Clinic would do the entire exam and bloodwork for no charge. THAT was what I wanted.
Chasing this dream of spending no money on my medical exam took an embarrassingly long time. I was nominated in July, and I finally gave up the dream in September.
I have heard several applicants who were successful with VA hospitals. I think being in a rural area made my search more difficult. I called every VA hospital within 100 miles, but none of them had space available to accept me. A couple even tried to make me feel bad for trying to take an appointment from a veteran or veteran's family.
I finally gave up and found a reduced price clinic 20 minutes from my house. This worked out great, because my income was so low that I only had to pay $20 per visit.
I had my physical exam and pap smear in the first visit, then had all the blood work done a week later.
The only problem I ran into was that I needed a polio booster. Apparently, public clinics don't keep this in stock for people over 18, so they referred me to travel clinics and health departments in the area.
I tried the travel clinic first because it was closest to my work. I called to make an appointment, and they informed me that in order to have the shot -- which was around $45, reasonable -- I would have to have a full physical by one of their physicians for around $185. I tried to politely decline, but I think I was laughing in disbelief when I heard that.
I tried the Cass County Health Department next. They made an appointment for me, had me wait 20 minutes for a nurse, and then informed me that they had none in stock for private patients over 18.
I tried the St. Joseph County Health Department -- a larger, more urban county -- and was finally able to get the shot.
Payment-wise, I've heard of people spending upwards of $1500 on all of their medical and dental work. I ended up spending around $85. I feel like I made out pretty well!
Between waiting for appointments, waiting for bloodwork to come back, and tracking down a polio vaccine, I wasn't able to submit my medical information until the beginning of January. MyToolKit updated as received on January 25th (a full 3 WEEKS after I mailed it out btw, that was nerve-wrecking).
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