I love my job, and would be hard pressed to give it up anytime soon. But, because it’s only part time work and I only work nine, maybe ten (if I can get summer school work) months out of the year, my employer doesn’t offer health insurance. My husband (who is also a bus driver) and I make just enough to put us over the limit on the free health insurance offered by the county, so for our working months we have no heath insurance. This past summer, we applied for the free health insurance and were finally approved a couple weeks ago, just in time for us to lose our access to help since we started work again.
The health care reform debate just makes me angry. We’re just at the poverty line, even though we live comfortably enough for us. We get by, and we’re doing it in a way that makes us happy. But, we can’t afford private insurance. I don’t understand why so many people are fighting a public option for health care, and I’m extremely frustrated that a single payer option isn’t being talked about more. Not that there aren’t people out there who are pushing for single payer. The Mad as Hell Doctors, a group touring the U.S. trying to gain support for single payer health insurance is one such group. I first heard about them through the Twin Cities Daily Planet, in the Sept. 17th article: Mad as Hell Doctors: Eliminate Health Insurance and Everyone Wins. I believe that a single payer health insurance option, based on the Medicare system, is the best option we have for heath care reform.
Another source for health care debate information that I’ve found extremely useful is from a seemingly unusual source: The Cauldron Health Care Reform Debate Forum 2009. This is a debate forum for pagans that is focused on serious conversation about different aspects of life. While the vast majority of forum members are pagan of one kind or another, they also have Christan and other religion members. They are very inclusive, respectful and fact based. The health care reform debate is a non-religious discussion that has a lot of links to articles that feature both conservative and liberal views. Forum posters are expected to be able to back up their opinions and flaming and trolling are not allowed. I find this to be one of the best sources for news links about health care reform issues.
I just hope that the health care debate ends with a reform that will help more people than the current system. For my family, it’s not a matter of not wanting to buy insurance, it’s a matter of being unable to afford insurance. I would love to be able to go to the doctor, the dentist, and not have to worry all the time about what would happen if someone in my family got hurt or sick. We’ve been fortunate so far, but I know the odds are against us.
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