I have nothing like Sara's story but would like to comment on CorpsCare. It is terrible. It covers nothing - the deductibles are so high for each and every situation that you might as well not pay for the insurance and just pay out of pocket. By the time you reach the deductible, you have paid twice for the insurance.

And for women, in particular...they will not cover your OB/GYN exam until exactly 12 months after YOUR COS DATE, not your last exam! I thought I had planned for this when I had the foresight and bought a year's worth of contraceptives (which I take for medical reasons, by the way) in country to cover me for 12 months -until my next exam. It wasn't until I returned home and was told by CorpsCare that they wouldn't cover another OB exam until one year from the COS date, NOT the exam date. Could this be one of the reasons why the PCMOs were urging us to get our medical exams done as early as three months PRIOR to COS? And failing to tell us that if you had done so, you won't be able to get another exam until 15 months after your last one?

Having tested previously for abnormal cells, I was unwilling to wait beyond the 12 month recommendation for this exam. I had to pay out of pocket for a routine exam and just to get refills on my prescription. Result: Costs of over $200. None of which are covered by CorpsCare.

If the insurance is not going to cover exams that we MUST get just to get a prescription, they need to give us enough of that prescription to last until the next time of that exam. CorpsCare also needs to cover exams from the date of your last exam, not your COS date. In this market, job security and/or health insurance immediately upon arrival is hardly a certainty and the Peace Corps needs to provide better medical coverage to care for the most basic care. CorpsCare does not do this. Like so many of you have said, I felt pretty much on my own with Peace Corps - both in country and when I got home.