I am 26 years old and I have never gone a day without health coverage. If I was sick, I’d pick up a phone, call Kaiser or Blue Cross or whoever I was under at the time, go in for an appointment, pay a few bucks and go get my meds. It seemed pretty basic. When you start a new job, you fill out the annoying little medical packet they give you and wait for your card in the mail. Simple, right? Intellectually, I understood that there are a lot of people in this country without this option but I never really THOUGHT about it.
I recently had occasion to find a new healthcare policy. I figured it would be easy. I’m young, relatively healthy, no diseases, always been covered. I’m a health insurance catch! Well…apparently not…For instance, I was unaware that going to an emergency room in the past year would be a factor in disqualifying you for a new policy. Did I see my doctor at all in the past 12 months? Did I take any medication? “Oh sorry, we’re going to have to decline your policy. But feel free to appeal!” I had kind of thought the point of healthcare coverage was that you be allowed to use it once in a while. Apparently this was somewhat naïve. I ended up with coverage that cost twice as much and delivered less than before. But at least I’m covered.
As I’m going through this experience, our country is embroiled in a debate over the future of our medical care. I am not an expert in this field. However, I have come to realize that no one else seems to be either. I seriously doubt many people have read the 1000 page document that is our potential healthcare bill. I’ve asked people what they think of our potential plans. “Universal healthcare will save money, cost money, socialize the country, kill our elderly, increase our lifespans… “ It’s a mess of contradictions. I would love to break down the absolute blatant lies told about healthcare on both sides of the political aisle but I don’t think I have the time. I am reasonably certain no one is going to actually conduct a death panel to decide if I live or die. I have doubts that, given how incredibly fat we are as country, preventative care is really going to save the hundreds of billions needed to make universal healthcare a working concern.
I personally would say I was fiscally conservative and not really in favor of spending vast amounts of money to put ourselves further in debt. However, as much as some of us would like it to be so, people aren’t really just walking dollar bills. There is a right and a wrong. It is wrong that tens of millions of people do not have access to the same level of care that I do. Regardless of how much it costs, we have an obligation to our neighbors. We care for them and they care for us. As much as government healthcare may be feared, it’s necessary as long as corporations can tell you take a hike for a preexisting condition, or can deny a claim for treatment. We’re the richest, most powerful country on the planet. To have so many of our citizens be denied at a hospital is just…tacky. I would like to think this country has a bit more class than that.