“The ambulance companies, they don’t like to take the discount,” the customer service representative tells me. “They’re very insistent on full pay.”

She’s so casual about this, it sends a chill down my spine. American healthcare: greed Incarnate. Did I mention I was calling to convince my former insurance provider to do something, anything, about the collections agency insisting my bills are unpaid? Oh, Cigna Healthcare – named for its healing properties much the same way the debt collector, First Financial Solutions, is named for how it helps fix families’ money troubles. Cigna has mishandled claims for my family so poorly over the years – that is, since my dad was diagnosed with brain cancer – that I have begun to wonder if it is intentional. Now, two years after I made the decision to call an ambulance instead of killing myself, I must once again convince these people to care.

I look at Mom, a seasoned veteran in handling these things. I am overwhelmed with pride and love. Thank you, Mom.