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Sex
Jul 16, 2008, 12:13PM

Waving Bi Bi To Those Pesky Health Care Costs

Next time your lying cheat of a boyfriend sleeps with a man, count yourself lucky-at least you don't have to lie to get free healthcare.

I’ve been waiting with these other at-risks all morning, trying to get comfortable in an annoyingly upright plastic chair, because my latest boyfriend, my most significant other, just told me he was sleeping with men. I didn’t ask how long he’d been cheating or when he first knew he was gay. My first thought was my health; who knows what the recently discovered swinger had brought into our bed.

Oh, and just one more thing. A tiny detail: My bisexual boyfriend isn’t real; I made him up to score free vaccines for an upcoming trip to Asia.

I feel bad about abusing the system, but as a freelance writer living in Manhattan, I really have no choice. When shared rooms on Craigslist start at $1,500, I barely have enough left over for a $3 slice of plain pizza, let alone a health insurance plan.

The two shots I need—Hepatitis A and B—together cost nearly $600. Cursing my life and financial status, I debated canceling the trip when a fellow traveler let me in on a secret: Go down to the free clinic in Chelsea and tell them you found out your boyfriend is bisexual and cheating. If they believe you, they’ll have to give you the vaccines for free, as you’re part of a high-risk sexual category.

Discussion
  • Totally unethical, but pretty smart.

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  • I like it when people who choose to live in Manhattan (bugger the cost) and are able to find the money for a trip to Asia decide to scam a free clinic for the cost of some shots.

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  • This sort of scam, which happens all the time, isn't "smart." It doesn't take a genius to game the bureaucracy, where employees are mostly just watching the clock to get home. Young people from privileged backgrounds, who like "experiencing" the poverty most of them will never know, have cheated the government for decades. Wm. Westbrook was right in his disgust about this writer's upcoming trip to Asia while taking advantage of a free clinic.

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