U.S. Healthcare or Lack Thereof

The lack of healthcare in the United States is a disgrace, and we should be ashamed as one of the wealthiest nations, not to have adequate coverage. Now, I fully believe that generosity is a choice, not an obligation, and if wealthy people want to keep their earnings, then that is their prerogative. Yes, healthcare comes from raised taxes, so yes in order to have adequate healthcare, there must be some communal responsibility. But at what point is it the job of the government to implement whatever necessary to insure its people?

When I talk with my foreign students, it's almost embarrassing to have any discussions about healthcare. It is so appalling here, that on many occasions, I've had students fly to their home country for, what are, minor medical procedures. But they do this, because in many cases it is free in their country.

I may seem hypocritically selfish, because I was never an advocate of healthcare before. I was spoiled in that my dad's healthcare covered me until I was 25 years old, whether I was a student or not. Last year at age 24, he changed jobs, and in the blink of an eye, I lost my health insurance. For the first time in my life, I had the fear of getting sick. I was the healthiest child alive, never even having been to a hospital. I never wore braces, I never broke a bone and I rarely missed school on account of a legitimate sickness.

Ironically, the day I lost my insurance was the day I felt sick. Losing health insurance turned me into an instant hypochondriac. Small things that I would never bat an eye at suddenly seemed monumental, because in my mind, I thought I had better treat this now, before it is too big to afford. Months after losing my health insurance, I cut my mouth. Naturally, it got infected. I was reduced to going to the sleaziest clinic I could find, and still paid $55 for the doctor to tell me what I already knew. I needed antibiotics, which "cha-ching" cost another $30. I got off easy at $85.