Don’t call my daughter a pre-existing condition.
Healthcare issues are being debated on all levels of government and our personal lives. They’ve become central to our daily routine as this country tries to find its way, and they may well prove central to the Obama presidency.
I’m in no way qualified to talk about how to fix the system, but I feel plenty qualified saying it’s broken. This summer my family lost our health insurance because we simply couldn’t keep up with the premiums. Those of us who run small businesses, make art, or work on a 1099/freelance basis have to pay out of pocket for health insurance. In my case the bill weighed around $1300 a month for a family of three. That’s crushing, but with a toddler and a baby due…well…shit. You pay.
Long story short we spent about six weeks without insurance, and I had to hunt for a policy that would cover Taryn’s pregnancy and not consider it a “pre-existing condition.” After finding the right policy there was a series of phone calls to the insurance broker. I was given lists of paperwork, filled out page upon page, then back to the phone calls. Then more paper. In total the process took days, not hours, from my life. Now I’m paying the bargain price of $800 each month with higher doctor fees, higher prescription fees, and a pretty hefty deductable.
I don’t want to come across as bitching about a lousy system. I want to lend perspective.
Think about musicians. Artists who are touring the country playing music and working their way up can’t afford health insurance. An established artist who dares to start a family while continuing to make music can’t afford health insurance. Put your iTunes on shuffle. The music changes your life, but you can bet that a healthy percentage of the artists performing it can’t walk into an emergency room without fear of bankruptcy.
I don’t know enough about healthcare reform to say much more. The arguments I hear are largely centered around the comfortable middle class versus the destitute, but there are other perspectives to consider. Artists, entrepreneurs, freelancers, day laborers; all forced to pay out-of-pocket or risk ruin if they’re hurt.
The current system is broken.
One final, personal thought: Never should a family have to risk losing everything because they’re bringing a new life into this world.
