It is with a bittersweet taste in my mouth that I enrolled in my employer’s health care plan yesterday, for which I become eligible in October. As I was signing the papers, I felt how lucky I was to not have to pay extravagant costs for reasonable health care anymore.
However, I was reminded of a comment by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who entertained the idea of not getting married until everyone who wants to be married has that opportunity in our country. I didn’t want my acceptance of health care to be a sign of my compliance with a very, very broken system.
Having not had access to affordable health care for the past 3 years, I understand what it is like to be uninsured, and to live with the uncertainty of knowing that a single incident of bad health could financially wipe out everything I had worked hard for: namely, my business, and my freedom.
As a society, we have got to begin subsidizing things that actually make us healthier. Instead of corn and soybeans, let’s subsidize preventative testing, vitamins and supplements, and memberships to fitness facilities and yoga classes. We have invested in sickness for too long, but it will take more than insurance company reform or a “public plan option” to change direction.
