As we all start reaching that dreaded age of 25 when our parents can no longer claim us on their health insurance plans, or if god forbid we are already there and are slowly realizing we can’t afford it, perhaps we should start thinking about, caring about, or learning about health care?
Isn’t it time for us to start taking a stand on the issues that will affect us forty years down the road, and not just the ones that will for the next five?
Making sure that there will be enough money for me to retire at a decent age and not be one of the countless elders who slips into poverty. Making sure that all women everywhere maintain control of their own bodies. Advocating for innovation and creativity, using smart technology and creating security for the next next greatest generation are all things that we care about, so why aren’t we hearing more?
We get that it is contentious and that there will be debate, but give us more substance. Don’t just facebook message us with a request to call our senators! Tell us what this bill says, how is it better, what do WE lose, what do WE gain? Blogs like Healthcare Economist, or Health Beat do their part but rarely write in the vernacular, while news sources focus more on the circus of debate rather than substance of issue.
We have seen the political power of our generation and have gotten political candidates and life-long politicians to finally speak and ultimately listen, don’t waste it. Health care policy will quite easily forget to take care of us, if we don’t start caring about it.
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Jen,
Great piece. I receive letters from Obama (excuse, his assistant David) in my email saying just those those things:
“We get that it is contentious and that there will be debate, but give us more substance. Don’t just facebook message us with a request to call our senators! Tell us what this bill says, how is it better, what do WE lose, what do WE gain? Blogs like Healthcare Economist, or Health Beat do their part but rarely write in the vernacular, while news sources focus more on the circus of debate rather than substance of issue.”
I am a under 25 out of college with no health insurance, and it’s terrifying. Every time I cough, have a tooth ache, feela muscle twitch, or sneeze more than once a day, I come up with elaborate futures in which I’m hospital bed-ridden while a doctor stands over me counting up millions of dollars worth of bills and shaking his head at my idiotic choice to forgo health insurance so I could do something as silly as eat.
What frustrates me is I have a lot to do these days. I have to work really hard to make money, and as much as everyone tells me I need to be informed, and know what I’m fighting for…where am I supposed to turn? Democrat and Republican leaders can’t be trusted to give an honest and two-sided perspective of exactly what is in a bill. Neither can media sources. And if I want to earn any money at all so that I can end up affording whatever health care is chosen, I don’t have the time to sit down and read every sentence of a health care bill that will probably look like gobbly-gook.
Thanks for putting words to the worries and thoughts a lot of us as facing right now. Maybe if we keep asking for real answers and real information instead of one-sided, completely bullshit-ed (excuse my french) arguments, we’ll get it.
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Thanks for the response Kate
I completely agree about the confusion over where to go, and who to listen to for an unbiased view of exactly what is in the new bill. As much as i want to read both versions of the plan, i don’t have the time either. I have found that reading that summary pages or even the table of contents helps a lot. I have also found myself relying a lot of blogs. There are three really good ones that i like called: “Health Beat”, “Healthcare Economist”, and “Let’s talk Health Care”. Sometimes they are a bit overwhelming( and i do tend to skip a lot of the really really really technical stuff) but they are a nice source for information.
The truth is out there in a digestible format and amount, i, just like you, wish it was a little easier to find.
Jen, thanks for the resources–
I will make sure to look at those soon!
I do worry about healthcare. I worry about having to pay $50 to see a specialist such as my eye doctor. I worry about having to pay $70 for a medication which regularly costs me $25 for a few months to use up a prescription deductible. I worry about being diagnosed with a serious long-term disease and having to declare bankruptcy because of my inability to pay the 5 or 6-figure debt off in my mid 20′s. I worry about getting in (another) severe car accident and being rushed to the hospital with a broken bone and numerous bumps and bruises.
I worry about these things and I HAVE health insurance.
I can’t even begin to wonder why I’d worry about if I DIDN’T have health insurance. My costs may seem significant to me, but they could be much, much more.
This sums it up for me: “Every time I cough, have a tooth ache, feel a muscle twitch, or sneeze more than once a day, I come up with elaborate futures in which I’m hospital bed-ridden while a doctor stands over me counting up millions of dollars worth of bills and shaking his head at my idiotic choice to forgo health insurance so I could do something as silly as eat.”
Thanks for the response Kate
I completely agree about the confusion over where to go, and who to listen to for an unbiased view of exactly what is in the new bill. As much as i want to read both versions of the plan, i don't have the time either. I have found that reading that summary pages or even the table of contents helps a lot. I have also found myself relying a lot of blogs. There are three really good ones that i like called: “Health Beat”, “Healthcare Economist”, and “Let's talk Health Care”. Sometimes they are a bit overwhelming( and i do tend to skip a lot of the really really really technical stuff) but they are a nice source for information.
The truth is out there in a digestible format and amount, i, just like you, wish it was a little easier to find.