One of the joys of being self-employed is navigating the travesty that is the American health care system. When I started on this enterpreneurial journey, I had the luxury of another person's salary and perhaps even more importantly--his benefits. Never underestimate the power and beauty that is corporate health care coverage, because life on the other side ain't pretty.
While I did manage to find a health insurance plan with a premium similar to what I've shelled out at other jobs, the benefits--well, I've yet to find any, short of being assured admittance to a hospital should I be involved in a car accident or random shooting. Other than that, I pay. And pay. For everything. Medication that used to cost an average of $100-$150/month averages $400. Gone are the days of that nifty $10 co-pay. Routine doctor's visit? $100. Annual physicial? $300. Stress fracture--well, I haven't seen that bill yet, but I'm betting I got close my annual deductible in just one visit.
And unfortunately, this type of non-coverage coverage is pretty much my only option, and the only option for thousands of other creative, enterprising people like myself. And we're the lucky ones, the ones with middle and upper middle class backgrounds, advanced degrees, with all the opportunities in the world. If access to quality health care is this bad for those of us supposedly with the money and means to "buy" our way into the system, how bleak is it for those who lack those resources and opportunities?
And what disheartens me even more is that during an election year in which this and any other host of issues are deserving of our attention, political discourse in our country has become the stuff of tabloids and tawdry gossip, which is a complete betrayal of those whose very livelihoods will be affected--for better or for worse--by the policies of the next administration. Don't we owe it to ourselves to ditch the dirt?
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