I am one of the lucky ones. I have a great job in local government where I get to help people in dire straits. I'm not quite 40. I'm quite healthy minus some pretty bad allergies, but who doesn't have allergies these days. I go to the Doctor every other year or so and call in when I need to update my allergy prescriptions. I have no dependents. I also have health insurance. My job is one where insurance is just considered a benefit so in 3.5 years on the job I have never had to think about how much it costs. I did have a sty a couple of years ago and not knowing what it was I called the Doc's office who sent me to the eye doctor who squeezed it for me and told next time to put a hot compress on it. Then I a got a bill for $300 which apparently was the uncovered portion of my "eye sugery"
Today that changed. My services as a Lead Paint Risk Assessor are being lent to another agency and I had to calculate how much I really cost per hour. That was the first time I saw how much it costs to insure a healthy 39 year old who goes to the Doctor less than once per year.
$820 mother fucking dollars a month! Call me naive. I assumed it would be highway robbery at $400 a month. In 3.5 years on the job I have paid approximately $34,440 into the private insurance system. That is more than my take home pay for a year. I figure I have cost the health care industry about $1000 (and I think I'm being generous here). The thing about this that really pisses me off is that I wouldn't mind paying this much money one little bit, if I knew that the money not being spent on my health care was paying the healthcare bills for someone else and not going to make yacht payments for some CEO. Medicare, I want you to have my money. I promise I won't hardly even use you. Maybe my money can get rid of that donut hole for a couple of seniors skimping on prescription drugs. Maybe my money can pay for check ups for 8 kids every month. Please just let me know where you want me to send the check and we can make a deal.
Rant Over.
Keep fighting for a Public Option. It won't be Healthcare Reform without it.
Update:
Thanks for the rec list! The real props go to slinkerwink and nyceve and all others who are working so tirelessly to keep the pressure on.