Health Insurance...

does not grow on trees. But a former supervisor vehemently begged to differ. She was equal parts pretentious and moronic. She argued that you could walk into any hospital without health insurance and they would be able to strike affordable deals with you. The fact that she used such a term shows hospitals are similar to loan sharks. The "deal" they will provide will include daily phone calls from collection agencies and severe damage to a credit score. This swell little offer doesn't stop there. Generally even a minor procedure without insurance will result in owing an equivalent to one year of higher education. I wondered if she was independently wealthy, but I snapped to my senses when I realized she got a free ride from the government because her husband was in the Navy. Oh well. Such luxuries can't erase the fact that she is violently annoying as a human being.

Seeing as I currently cannot afford $400 a month for health insurance I am living life dangerously without it. Relying on Planned Parenthood for the bare minimum they can offer... I make just under the limit to have these services rendered free of charge. It's a slight relief, but at the same time checking Web MD compulsively when something just "doesn't feel right" is not the same as having a regular doctor.

Today alone I convinced myself that my persistent yet mild stomach bug was the result of severe food poisoning and it was only a matter of time before I would become paralyzed. The symptoms matched perfectly...there was no way I was wrong. Earlier in the day I clearly had some form of stomach cancer. (Yet I was still weighing the odds of buying a purse instead of going to a doctor...couldn't have been that bad.)

Health Care is a different issue than Health Coverage. Of course if I were a multi-millionaire who elected to live life outside the parameters of insurance I could easily afford and obtain health care. But this is not the case for the vast majority of Americans. I graduated college and was kicked off of my father's health insurance the day of commencement. It was like a bitter break up. I only recently threw out the prescription and ID cards. For months I foolishly thought that maybe I could still go to a doctor and no one would realize the difference as long as I flashed those pieces of plastic in their direction. Much like a lost love that can't let go, you think maybe...just maybe... things could still work out.

But as of right now I am still in the bitter stage. I work for a small company that does not pay money toward employee insurance. It seems cruel but this is becoming the norm. Workplaces used to take care of those working full-time...but such instances are going by the way of cradle to grave jobs. I accept the change. I would go legitimately insane if I worked at the same company from 21 until 65. If people are accepting these changes regarding work habits, why isn't America adapting health-wise? Health is the single most important component in regards to human life. Seems like a simple...even stupidly obvious concept. But Insurance companies make such a necessary thing out of reach.

I am really not much for politics, but I hope that things start to change in a modern direction. Health...not war. (I hope that ends up on t-shirts) Because I am pretty damn sure that each time I assume I have a terrible disease thanks to google...it actually takes more minutes off my life.