The truth is I'm an uninsured American. As one of the "young people" who is frequently accused of thinking he/she is invincible, I haven't had insurance since I graduated from undergrad when I was on my mom's insurance. After I graduated I had a job, but it was only a temp job (since even in 2005 the economy wasn't that great, and I was a political science major, not much you can do with that without a grad degree) which means I didn't get benefits. I looked around for health insurance, but none of the plans were something I would have been able to afford. After a year trying to be in the workplace, I applied for law school in 2006 and was accepted. While in law school, I didn't have insurance so I used the "free" clinic on campus if I had a problem. Now I've graduated and am looking for a job and I can't even consider jobs that don't come with benefits packages.
I wear glasses and have a pretty strong prescription, my eyes are getting progressively worse. Last year I had to get new glasses, it ended up costing me over $800 out of my own pocket for 1 pair of glasses, 1 pair of sunglasses, and 6 pair of contacts. You're SUPPOSED to get your eyes checked every year, but unless I get a job soon, my eyes won't be getting checked this year.
Earlier this year I had problems with my ears (some of you may remember this). After it finally got to the point where I could barely hear, I went to a specialist to get them checked out. There went another $350. After the specialist fixed my problem, I had to go get a hearing test to make sure I wasn't going deaf. Another $100. I also needed a prescription, luckily they had the generic brand, another $65.
I don't remember the last time I've been to the dentist. My last check-up was before law school, and that was because I had to get one.
Even when I HAD insurance, I went to the emergency room once when I was in undergrad and STILL had to pay $800 out of pocket (for what, I still don't know because I wasn't there that long an the only thing wrong with me was fatigue. I don't even think I saw an actual doctor.)
For me, health care isn't just an issue about insuring others, I KNOW from firsthand experience how expensive it is to survive without it. I'll hopefully have a job by the time it's passed and implemented, but if I don't I want to be able to afford to go to the doctor if I need to. I remember telling my Grandmother that I couldn't afford insurance a couple of years ago, and that if something happened to me just don't call an ambulance. I was only half-joking.
If we can agree about nothing else on this site, it's that we NEED health care/insurance reform. We may not necessarily agree on HOW to get there (the politics game), but we agree that this country can't go on much longer without it. We even mostly agree on what should be IN the bill. I know the bullet points, I've heard Obama and people in his administration tick them off repeatedly. I know what Obama "wants" (even if we don't necessarily know exactly what he's not willing to give up). If I seem a bit "overly" critical of him sometimes, it's not because I want him to FAIL, I want him to SUCCEED just as much as anyone here, and to have that fact questioned is surprising. We might have different ways of showing support, but we ARE all showing support.
During the election, President Obama repeatedly told us that even after the election he would need us to stay involved and to make him do what he promised. That is all I am trying to do when I write something critical about him. Honestly, health care, and Gay rights are the only two times I have really disagreed with how he's handling things since he got elected. I think this community does a tremendous service to the WH even when being critical of it. I have no problem with people disagreeing, I enjoy a good debate. But there has been a lot of nastiness (on BOTH sides, in this case "both halves" of the same side) which has been shocking and disconcerting. If I've been nothing else on this site, I've been completely honest about how I feel and what I think. You don't have to guess or put words in my mouth. If you have a question about what I meant, just ask me and if I see the comment I'm more than happy to explain it and engage with you if you disagree with me.
The truth of the matter is, this debate is very personal to ALL of us (insured and uninsured alike), so emotions are going to flare. What isn't helpful is turning on each other when we KNOW most of the people on this site have the best of intentions. My diary yesterday bothered a lot of people, and I was called a lot of very "not nice" things as a result, but it was my opinion. You don't have to agree, you don't even have to like it, but you can still be respectful. I usually like to read the comments, I'll keep the diary open to read the comments and respond if it's on the rec list, yesterday I just shut the diary and waited for it to fall off of the rec list. My goal is not to be inflammatory around here, I just like healthy discussions.
This is not a GBCW diary (if/when I leave, I just will without the fanfare), it's just a diary to try to explain where I (and probably many others) am coming from when we criticize Obama.
If you read it thanks.
If you didn't read it, please don't comment based only on what you think I said.