Step Four: Medical, Dental, Vision and Legal Clearance

I am still waiting for the large envelope I am expecting from the Peace Corps. The only part of step four that I will not need to do much with until Step Six: Staging is the legal clearance. I presently have no legal holds. The medical, dental and vision are going to be a bit time consuming and costly.

As many of you know I am unemployed, which means no health insurance. I have scheduled all my appointments for the last week in May based on allowances in my budget and the upfront money I will need to pay. My medical deposit is $200 and my doctor’s office estimates that my labs will run anywhere from $100-$200. I need a complete physical, blood work and urine analysis. My dental deposit is $200. This is only for a complete evaluation and x-rays. The evaluation will come with recommendations for future dental needs and what needs to be completed before I will receive my dental clearance from my doctor. Lastly, my vision appointment will run $150 for a complete exam and evaluation. I will need to order an additional pair of glasses at the time and order new lenses for my present glasses. I love my primary pair of glasses, but the lenses have some scratches. New glasses needs could run $300 plus. My last week in May is an expensive week for me.

The Peace Corps does reimburse some medical expenses, so save your receipts. For me, I am probably looking at about a 25% reimbursement before I hit the ceiling of amounts the Peace Corps has preset. Most people can also have their medical evaluation completed at a local VA hospital with a letter of purpose from the Peace Corps, but residents from Maine and Oregon do not qualify. Just my luck!!

For those future applicants, you will need your vaccine records from your childhood. Copies can be found at the county health records office if you do not have a copy. I got lucky. My mom is very organized and all of my medical records from childhood have been kept in her safety deposit box. I now have copies of everything. This can be time consuming for people to track down, so be prepared.

After enduring all of the above and mailing all completed forms to the Peace Corps I still have a big concern. I am overweight and my weight has been a constant battle for me in my life. This could be a problem and cause a medical deferment during the medical clearance process. However, I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

Based on my research I have read that the Peace Corps bases the decision regarding an applicant’s weight with the Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement. Anything over a BMI of 30 is sent additional medical evaluation for your doctor to make sure that if an applicant is healthy, although overweight. I have a BMI of 36. The Peace Corps takes an assumption that a volunteer will lose weight during service, sometimes considerable weight loss. So, being overweight will not be a sole reason for being denied the opportunity to serve, but being overweight and unhealthy will be.