After years…no decades of a battle over universal & affordable healthcare a victory was one. Not a political victory, but a victory for those of us who have been dropped by our insurance agencies or unable to get proper healthcare coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Today we woke up covered!
Now I’m not going to go into the bill, because that debate is a horse of a different color. Have I read it? Yes. Are there things I disagree with? Yes. Do I stand with the President on the Affordable Heathcare Act? Yes I do. There isn’t a piece of legislation drafted by an imperfect human being that will be perfect. There isn’t a piece of legislation that will ever pass in this country that people can unanimously stand behind. And that’s just because we are a country full of different people, with different cultures and a ton of economic backgrounds and circumstances. But in the long run, for the majority of working Americans that are dying from things like dehydration simply because they can’t get preventative care for their lupus or Ulcerative Colitis…well…then I say, Bully for Obamacare!
And although I have said it before, I will scream it out again. Not everyone who benefits from Affordable Healthcare is poor, an immigrant or uneducated. In fact you will find that a lot of the people being turned away before by health insurance companies were middle class working Americans or children with diseases that demanded maintenance and care.
I was…I am one of those Americans. I was side swiped by my disease in my mid twenties and then hung out to dry by health insurance companies that didn’t want to cover me, my daily meds or my preventative care. I was left to die from the disease a leave my child with the debt of my medical bills. Not cool. But today…today I woke up knowing full well that the government I pay taxes to and the country that I love haven’t failed me. I woke up knowing that there will never be a time in my life again where I will have to read another letter from an insurance company saying that they wouldn’t waste their money on someone who had one foot in the grave. Because with insurance and preventative care, I will actually find myself so far from that grave. Shoot, I may not even be on the same block as the cemetery. I’ll be able to live my life. And I’m not just talking about medical treatment, but the stress that comes from getting sick while trying not to worry about getting sick will be gone. Facing death or bankruptcy because I don’t have insurance is not my reality anymore.
Yep, I’m covered!