Around the same time that the health care reform act was being hotly debated, several months back, I wrote extensively about my own experiences. I’ve struggled with chronic illness the whole of my life, and so not having health insurance was not exactly any bargaining chip for me. The no-insurance option shouldn’t have to be anyone’s experience, yet this is still true for many I know. Many people my age (thirty) and younger who have had to endure extended periods of unemployment due to the economy must depend on benevolent parents, should they be young enough, or instead beg for whatever available government coverage can be achieved. At worst, they must make do with no coverage, hoping and praying that they don’t get seriously sick. My sister is a prime example of the risk you take when you don’t have health insurance. An injury, followed in rapid succession by an illness, required extensive care, depleting what little savings she had and leaving her in debt. She always worked somewhere, but only managed to find jobs in the service industry, low-wage endeavors that did not provide insurance to employees.
