Let me introduce you to the process of health insurance through my friend Bobby Bones.

Bobby Bones is an energetic boy of twelve. His parents, worried about his safety, have Bobby under their health plan PatchUp, which they get from their employer.

One day Bobby Bones climbed up the tallest tree in his yard and shouted “I’m the King of the World!” while bouncing up and down on a tree branch. Unfortunately for Bobby, the branch suddenly snapped, and Bobby dropped 20 feet like a sack of potatoes. His mother, watching soap operas, heard her son screaming and ran outside.

Bobby was fine except that his right forearm looked like it was karate chopped in the middle. Bobby’s mother rushed him to the nearest hospital. When they got into the emergency room, the tired receptionist asked for Bobby’s health plan. Mrs. Bones handed her an insurance card. The receptionist looked at the insurance card through horned rimmed glasses, looked up, and then asked for a $50 copayment in the laziest voice imaginable. Wait, a copayment?