Today's decision by the Supreme Court meant more to me personally than any other decision in the past several years. Why? Because I am dependent on the healthcare I have been provided, thanks to the Affordable Care Act and the Medicaid expansion that came with it (via a GOP Governor, John Kasich). I will happily give Kasich credit alongside President Obama, even though I disagree heavily with many of his policies. The guy did the right thing, and I will thank him for it.
No, I do not have a life-threatening illness or a child with cancer - but my story shows that Obamacare may have saved my life in another way, and I am eternally grateful for it.
Follow me over the orange cloud-looking thing and I'll tell you why....
Two years ago, I lost my job through no fault of my own, and the state unemployment department fortunately backed me up on that claim. With it went my access to healthcare, and there was no way I could afford the huge COBRA bill to continue it on the small amount of Unemployment Compensation I received.
I repeatedly tried to get work in my chosen field, but got nowhere fast. Interviews never turned into jobs, and it was primarily because I was without a college degree. A guy in his 40s working in Digital Content was going to get overlooked for the kid in his mid-20s with a degree, and I understood that. But I kept trying. When the Unemployment ran dry, I took a job with Lyft to pay bills. It was work, and I was happy to have it - but it gave me no future.
However, I had healthcare, and my daughter and I needed that boost. We were paying 45 dollars a month for it, and it was a lifesaver on many occasions, especially with our combined three prescriptions.
I know that doesn't sound like much of a hardship - but without the ACA, we would have been paying well over 600 dollars a month for our prescriptions, which was about half of what I was bringing in. It would have been a choice between rent and medication.
I felt hopeless. And with every vote in Congress to strip away my healthcare, I grew angrier. I've spent decades playing by the rules, had a job every day of my life since turning 16 (technically 11 if you count being a paperboy), and I just needed a tiny amount of help to keep from losing everything I had. But the "repeal Obamacare" votes kept coming...along with the refusal to extend unemployment compensation.
After a long talk with my girlfriend, we decided to make a sacrifice and I would return to college to finish my degree. With my acceptance into the University of Cincinnati, I was offered a student job (12 dollars an hour, but a maximum of 24 hours a week). Too little to qualify for the ACA, but I was within the range for Medicaid.
So off I went to college - it'll take two years to finish, and I am exactly halfway into that time frame. I'm going to graduate from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in Electronic Media and Marketing, and I will have a BIG step forward when I return to the work force. I'll have plenty of work experience and a recent degree to go with it. Life will be better because of my two-year journey back to campus life.
But I could not have done any of this if I hadn't been offered help from the ACA and the Medicaid expansion. My daughter and I were on the cusp of serious financial disaster, and a big choice was right around the corner.
I will have a better life - and so will my daughter - because of the actions by President Obama, Governor Kasich, and the US Supreme Court. Without the healthcare subsidies and the offer of Medicaid, I might be busting my ass every day just to keep my head above water. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
My story isn't going to make it into a campaign speech or the evening news, but that healthcare saved our lives, because it gave us a chance to have a future. We'll be able to build our own success and possibly live the American Dream, because someone offered us a stepladder out of potential poverty, instead of turning their backs on us and then mocking us for our troubles.
So today, I say thank you to the Supreme Court. I will be able to finish my degree now, and when I graduate, I will take a nice-paying job....and then I will purchase my own healthcare and pay a little more in taxes so another person who needs a helping hand can have the boost that I am currently being given.